Time, At What Price?
by lalunaticscribe
Summary: After fading, Fujiwara no Sai is given the time he wishes for to achieve the Divine Move. But at what price? And how long does he have? Sai is now here, but for how much longer? And this time, there's no coming back from death...
1. Prologue:Sai, meet Fox

_**I recently began to read Hikaru no Go. It was addictive, so addictive that I finished most of the series within two days, except for the omakes. From there, I switched to reading fanfics, watching anime, and reading its Wikipedia page. Finally, I ran out of a steady supply of good-quality HikaGo fics and decided to write my own.**_

_**I do not own Hikaru no Go, Yumi Hotta does. I admire her for creating such a story. Of course, i was quite dissatisfied with how Sai faded without even finishing his game; it was quite a breach of etiquette. Therefore, in this fic, I want to revive Sai and have him finish this game once and for all...to achieve the Hand of God.

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_**Prologue**_

_For humans, there are four ways of existences waiting after the moment of death. The first, and most common, is reincarnation, where souls live over and over again with no recollection of their previous lives. The second is to be anchored by all the emotions they have felt prior to death, wandering the earth as a vengeful spirit. The third, and rarest, is to become a minor deity, in essence a god, in the land of the Eight Million Gods. The last, is to gain eternal time, but at a horrible, painful price; never again being able to return should they die again..._

Among the great gods, rarely had there been such a fuss, particularly among the especially honourable old ones. In the land of the gods, the deities of the Way of the Gods were faced with a dilemma of a certain soul.

Susanowo, surly and bad-tempered as befitted the lord of storms, Tsukiyomi, no longer the calm god of the moon, Shinigami, dark entity of death, even serene Amaterasu, beautiful sun goddess and ruler of the land of gods, were puzzled, irritated even, by the sudden problem that had presented itself before them, a hiccup in their long lives, a difficult, unprecedented problem to solve.

_Sai._

_Fujiwara no Sai._

That name was whispered around the Hall of Judgement, a simple wood-panelled room with a large dais far across the entrance. Around this dais where the great ones knelt in _seiza_, was scattered the _shirasu_, the white sand of truth. Even among the hushed whispers, the gods, major and minor alike, could sense a disturbance; never had the three siblings taken so long to pronounce judgement.

The defendant himself was serene, curious even, as to what was happening, unaware that his fate was being debated among the gods themselves. In the midst of so many, the man, dressed in his official robes and _eboshi_, hid his face behind the white paper fan he held in an effort to hide his emotions at seeing such a wondrous presence as he was now. Well he should; he was amidst gods, after all. Thoroughly schooled in the ways of the old superstitions of the Heian era, he knew that he was in the midst of a higher presence.

The problem: Fujiwara no Sai. Having lived over a millennium as a spirit trapped in a _goban_, he was a _Tsukumogami_ and thus rightly should have been immediately thrown into the cycle of reincarnation. However, he was also one of the most adept talents closest to achieving the Hand of God, a feat which even the Three have not witnessed, and were eager to. Needless to say, having the person closest to achieving it lose all his memories and relive life all over again was arguably going to throw a huge spanner into the works. Shinigami did not help much either, insisting that the soul of Fujiwara no Sai should either be reincarnated or become a denizen of Yomi, the land of the dead. This decision was immediately rejected by all three on the grounds that the Hand of God could not possibly be witnessed or even achieved in there, a rare feat indeed; Amaterasu and Susanowo hardly ever agreed with one another. They could not formally induct Sai as a god of go; he had done nothing very remarkable, no matter _which_ of his three lifetimes showcased a testament to his ability in Go. Not to mention, sending him back to the human world as a vengeful spirit was not only cruel, but also technically inaccurate and bound to cause a lot of questions if the subject of where Sai ended up came up with Sai's last possessed, the Go player called Shindo Hikaru. No, telling a human the existence of gods was unforgivable. Not to mention that in order to create a vengeful spirit, the person with whom Sai had a grudge with had to be somewhere around, a feat not possible since Shinigami, hearing what the man had done, had thrown the cheater into Jigoku to roast for all eternity. For the first time, what must have been half the gods all agreed to damn a soul.

This left the gods a last, very horrible option, the only option they could resort to when a soul came under the strict rules governing the laws of nature itself.

Of course, to actually achieve it, the rule-breaker was needed.

The whispers cut off abruptly as a presence made it known, subtle but strong. No one needed confirmation; everyone knew the powerful _kami,_ one of the most powerful after the great three themselves.

'I wish to take the young one with me,' a soft, strong voice made itself known, neither male nor female, but beautiful anyway. Each and every eye drew upon the speaker, a great white fox, glowing as though the full moon itself shone from it, the pure light drawing small gasps from some of the less jaded. 'I want the young spirit to follow in the paths of the gods soon, and he shall need time. I will give him that time, Amaterasu, until the child has achieved the Hand of God, and return as one of your people. What do you say?' The fox's eyes flickered to Sai, where it was met with the man's large innocent purple eyes.

The serene beauty, a ghost of a smile upon small red lips, bowed her head in assent. Susanowo shrugged, and even Tsukiyomi managed to nod.

_Do what you wish. Find a way to bring forth the Hands of God from your people's talents of the game. We shall await the Divine Move._

'Come, Fujiwara no Sai. Come with me, and I shall give you the eternal time you so desire to walk the earth for the Hand of God.' The fox's voice slowly murmured, extending a forepaw towards the man.

'At what cost would be the time that you would give?' The man slowly replied in a husky, serious nature. The fox, if you studied it closely, almost smiled sadly. 'If you were to die in the life I would give you, never again can you return here. Your spirit would be broken, scattered to the winds, and you will never endure reincarnation. However, should you live, never will your body age or be diseased, and never can you die a natural death. Should you wish to redeem yourself, achieve the Hand of God in this time I give, and become one of the gods.'

The young man thought about this for some time, finally reaching out a hand to the fox. 'I accept the borrowed time you offer, _Kami_ _Sama_.'

As hand met paw, a thin line of blue-white fire snaked around the joined pair, sealing a compact between the spirit named Fujiwara no Sai, and the god named Fushimi Inari.

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'O-Inari Sama...' Sai softly whispered in measured, hushed tones in the god's adobe.

'Do not call me that, Fujiwara San. I may be accepted as a _kami_, but they did not have much of a choice when they accepted me.' The fox quietly reproached. 'I am addressed as Inari Sama, but I am not accorded the power that comes with that title, only with what I had prior to ascension. You will call me Fushimi, in public and private, and just Fushimi.' Some of the glow faded, allowing Sai to take note of his surroundings for once.

Rustic and simple, the large, wide open room held several tables, chairs and, in one corner, what looked like several boxes made of that material Sai remembered Hikaru called cardboard. Yes, it was in a cardboard box that Hikaru got a _goban_ from his grandfather. It would be very much like a Go salon, except that Sai was quite sure that the furniture, although well cared for, was definitely very old, and the place's lighting had a certain...feeling to it, as if the place was teeming with sheer _life_, even among supposedly dead furniture. It had the same feeling of standing in a desolate forest; surrounded by life, but completely alone.

'Perhaps I should explain exactly what have you gotten yourself into, Fujiwara no Sai,' the fox sighed. 'Allow me a moment to change.' The fox's eyes, clear and glowing a bright topaz, mesmerised Sai, and he found himself almost unable to look away from those beautiful, vertically slit pupils.

When he finally tore his eyes away, there was a person in place of the white fox. The person did not look very masculine or feminine; he/she had a long face with a matching pointed nose. The person had long hair, conveniently tied back in a timeless ponytail, and was wearing an ordinary brown _yukata _usually reserved for males, but that was not any indication of gender, given that Sai himself had long hair which he tied back. Fushimi had charming, androgynous features, and surely the fox god would stand out in any crowd he so desired, but Fushimi Inari would never be standing in the limelight.

'Human form is slightly more agreeable, I see,' the fox murmured, again the same voice, as those charming eyes met Sai's. 'Well, then, the précis is that you have been given a way back to the human world. You now possess a physical body, all your faculties, all your memories, and allowed back to earth as you are now. You will not age, or fall sick, or sustain any serious injury inflicted during this time. However, exactly how much time you are allowed is quite uncertain, and there are still ways for you to die. Once you die, you can never return, ever again. Not now, not ever, cursed to spend eternity in the realm of Izanami no Mikoto. You are a very rare one, Fujiwara no Sai, exempted by the gods to achieve the Divine Move so that those above can finally witness it. Furthermore, you will be bound to me as one of my subjects, and bound until either you achieve the Divine Move and ascend, until you die as you are now, until I choose to release you from our pact, or until you choose to become a _youkai_. Which in that case you will, in all probability be trapped as a cursed _goban_ that kills anyone who play it.'

Sai gasped at the last alternative, shivering in distaste. 'O-Inari...Fushimi Sama, since this is a matter of the Hand of God, why would Fushimi Sama, a patron of agriculture, choose to involve yourself in this matter?'

Fushimi laughed. 'You are young and curious, I see. Well, permit an old fox to indulge in a whim now and then, Fujiwara San. After all, I am Inari, the fox god who protects the rice land and tricks the mortals who do not know their place.'

That answers nothing, but Sai felt a bit better at hearing Fushimi's laugh, knowing that this was definitely more like what a cunning fox would do to express dissatisfaction at the gods.

'You can still turn back, Fujiwara San.' Fushimi gently replied, producing a fan from his sleeve. 'Turn back and reincarnate. Live life all over again, forgetting what is Go, forgetting the game you loved for three lifetimes, forgetting everything to start all over, even what was the Divine Move.'

This was a tempting offer. Sai did not know what the gods had prepared for him, but he was quite suspicious, even if they were gods. The road to the Hand of God was long, arduous trip, and having travelled on this stony path for almost a millennium, he was tempted to take a new path and relive life. Just one decision, and he could be on his way, and the gods would not force him. It was a good offer, one that most people would take if they could. However, Fujiwara no Sai was no normal person. His love for Go, his pursuit of the God's Hand had continued, undeterred even by death, and he had by his skill carved one of history's most exalted Go players, one that all would acknowledge as the greatest player in the world: Honinbo Shuusaku. Even in death, he wanted to play Go, to finally play the perfect game, and win.

Hence, not knowing what fate had in store for him, Fujiwara no Sai straightened his back, squared his shoulders, and made his decision: 'I will accept.'

_Per essere continuato...

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_**To fully understand what is going on, this is a précis of Japanese mythology. The world was created when a couple, Izanagi and Izanami, poked the oily primordial chaos that was the world before everything was there with a magic spear to create land, or more specifically the Japanese islands we know today. The 'Mikoto' thing at the end of Izanami is the god's title. Continuing on, after creating the islands, the two came down to the land, got married there and created the gods of the land, the mountains, etcetera and basically gods of almost every aspect of life, Izanami died in giving birth to the god of fire and was sent to Yomi, the land of the dead. Izanagi went down to retrieve his wife but upon seeing the goddess ravaged by maggots and decomposing and so on, fled to the surface world and sealed the entrance to Yomi to prevent her from following him to the world, which is why Izanami controls the world of the dead. Shinigami is actually the name given to an entity who harbrings death, which is actually considered unclean in Shinto, which means 'Way of the Gods'. Okay, so after which, Izanagi, in his grief, goes to a small pool of water [some versions vary between a spring, a pond, and a river] and washes his face, and out of his left eye was born the sun goddess Amaterasu, his right eye gave the moon god Tsukiyomi life, and from his nose Susanowo [sometimes spelled as Susanoo, pronounced Su-san-no-O] the god of sea and storms. Amaterasu rules the Shinto version of heaven, Takamagahara [aka Heavenly Celestial Plain], with her brother Tsukiyomi. Susanowo, upon orders from Izanagi, was banished from Takamagahara [further details freely available on the Net]. **_

_**Inari is a fox god in Shinto mythology. I named this Inari 'Fushimi Inari' after the famous Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Fushimi Inari is perhaps the oldest shrine in Japan dedicated to Inari worship, the shrine is located on top of Inari-Yama, and was featured in the movie Memoirs of a Geisha.**_

_**Here, I will always alternate between 'the Divine Move', 'The Hand of God' or 'God's Hand' because I believe in variety.  
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_**Please review!**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Go Playing Fox

_**I am so glad that I've already received 2 reviews for this fic. When I first started out, I barely got any reviews at all, and now my oldest fic only has about 22 reviews. I still barely get any reviews, much less constructive reviews. So I was so happy when Time, At What Price? got 2 reviews in its first day! Yay! *Sai does chibi dance*

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_**The Go- Playing Fox**_

When Sai accepted the offer of the gods, he did not know how long, how much longer, must he walk on the path he himself has chose; the long, harsh path to the Divine Move. After which, he proceeded to challenge even Fushimi to a game. Six games later, he was still unable to wrest a win from Fushimi Inari. Well, it was not for lack of trying...

'I don't believe it.' Sai hoarsely pronounced as he looked at the _goban_; he and Fushimi had tied. For the sixth time. Back to back. _Again_. Sai was almost frustrated to the point of wanting to tear his hip-long hair out by the roots, but that would have been quite painful, given that there was an awful lot of hair.

'I am sorry, I only know how to force a tie; other than that, my Go is extremely mediocre.' Fushimi stated, bowing his/her head. He/she stated it as if being able to tie _every_ game, even against Sai, was _mediocre_.

'Fushimi Sama, being able to tie a game is actually significantly harder than to win one,' Sai acknowledged. In truth, he suspected that the only reason he almost lost in that last game was because Fushimi's attention was apparently focused on a spot on the wall behind him, which he'd learned concealed the door to Fushimi's place. _If Fushimi Sama had placed the black stone there instead of connecting, the balance of the game would have tipped in Black's favor,_ he thought. _And that wasn't all. From the beginning, I suspected that Fushimi Sama was deliberately attempting to tie the game. Each time White gained territory, Black would aggressively catch up, but each time White lagged behind, Black would begin to cede territory and make mistakes. So this is a god's level of play...how exciting. A wall I have not yet surmounted...Fushimi Inari._

Such was he absorbed in his reverie that he almost failed to notice the new presence in the room, finally realizing the newcomer's presence when Fushimi spoke, a note of relief evident in his voice: 'Oh good, you're here.' It was the tone a concerned grade-school teacher would use with a troublesome student.

Slightly surprised that Fushimi was expecting anyone in the first place, Sai turned to look at the newcomer, registering a not very tall, but also not too short man with pale skin. The man's shoulder length black hair, pulled back in a clip, failed to hide his eyes, a gleaming black which almost terrified Sai. The fact that the newcomer was holding an extremely sharp sword in a place that would render Sai's head in great danger was not helping Sai warm up to the newcomer either. Even more unhelpful was that the newcomer had Fushimi's charm and even better-looking, aesthetically speaking, which somehow irritated Sai, who strongly took the Victorian view that men too good-looking are bound to misfortune, even though Sai himself was good-looking. _Look what happened to him._

'Chiaki put the sword away,' Fushimi reproached. 'This man is the one I notified you about. Our job is to attempt to get him used to this time, not to terrify him. The poor dear is terrified, look.'

Sai decided not to protest the fact that he was not a 'poor dear' but that would have probably angered Chiaki for disrespecting Fushimi. Thus, he wisely kept quiet.

Chiaki scowled, sheathing the sword in a scabbard kept on his obi. He was dressed in Edo samurai attire, Sai realised, having spent some time in Edo before meeting Hikaru [Honinbo Shuusaku, remember?].

'Fushimi Sama, my apologies for not coming faster, I had to prepare the necessary documents.' Chiaki murmured in a deep, rich baritone as he bowed deeply to Fushimi.

'Documents?' Sai questioned, feeling a bit left out.

'The flow of time here is different from how time flows elsewhere, Fujiwara San,' Fushimi kindly explained. 'It has been three weeks, I believe, since you have entered my house. Of course, it is three weeks in the human sense, but in here, it is merely three hours. Do not worry yet,' he added as Sai almost panicked, 'we still have the luxury of time, and so you have time to learn exactly how much the world has changed in the last millennium.'

'Learn how the world has changed?' Sai wondered. 'But I already know what exists in the human world. I have lived in it. Why must I learn again?'

'You have lived in it as a ghost, Fujiwara San. You must now learn how to live in it as a human being, how customs and culture itself have changed.' Fushimi firmly said. 'Otherwise, you would stand out far too much, and you cannot fit in unless you adapt. Furthermore, your existence must be recognized by...what was it again...ah yes, the government, and a false background must be created, among all the other necessities, before we can allow you to take the next step into the human world. All these are necessary, seeing as today, almost nobody would believe you if you were to turn up talking about being sent by the gods to complete the Divine Move. You would just gain odd looks and a private cell in a sanatorium.'

'Hence, at Fushimi Sama's behest, I have invested quite a bit in gaining necessary documents,' Chiaki picked up from where Fushimi left off. 'Also, again at Fushimi Sama's behest, I will tutor you in the new ways. Some may not have changed, but many have, Fujiwara no Sai.'

'Hence the necessary knowledge for you to be able to play Go. Without recognition these days, I do believe it is impossible to enter any tournament or to even walk out in the human world in search for a rival you must meet, correct?' The topaz eyes met amethyst ones.

_True, it is then, for the sake of another game with him, Touya Koyo, that I must do so. In order to face him in a fair match again..._ 'I will accept.'

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Over the course of the next few days, Chiaki told him every single aspect of Fushimi's house, or at least every aspect necessary to at least survive what Sai assumed was Fushimi's trap-riddled maze-like house long enough to actually make it outside. After covering that [three days, Sai noted, although Fushimi insisted that it was a month, in human terms, but Sai had no idea of Fushimi's reliability, seeing as he still had no idea of time, having been staying in Fushimi's house and the surrounding garden only, fenced in by the thick stone walls surrounding it], they covered more modern eating, dressing and, once, even bathing habits [although Chiaki just told him the basics before shoving him into the bathroom, which was somewhat similar to Hikaru's, now that he thought about it, but then, through trail, error and the dread of facing another lecture on how to bathe, and no he was not a child, he managed to get the hang of it, a feat of what people, in their right mind set, can actually accomplish]. Between these strange lessons, not only did Sai brush up his language to include some more modern terms, he began to realise than deep beneath a cold exterior, his tutor actually had an impish sense of humour. When he voiced this though, Chiaki just scowled at him, though the fox just laughed.

Yes, Sai had realised that he was surrounded by foxes. Which was to be expected, seeing as foxes were Inari's messengers, after all.

Even when finally figuring out how exactly does a zipper worked [the two foxes still laughed at Sai's first introduction to jeans, which we shall not go into, but it is a common enough phenomenon when you put on jeans half asleep and something gets caught in the fly...], he was pulled through an abridged version of approximately three hundred years of the history after his second disappearance, which on hindsight should have been taught to Hikaru too so that Sai could have learned a bit more on exactly how much times have changed. Even as he lamented the loss of what was once peaceful, slow, steady life, he marvelled at how miracles such as putting a man on the moon could be achieved by humans, even as it resulted on a huge internal theological debate on exactly where was Takamagahara, which he soon abandoned on the pretext of it giving him a headache.

Twelve happy months had passed when, finally, the great test came...

'What is a computer?' Chiaki asked.

'_Not_ a strange box with players inside.' Sai smoothly replied.

Chiaki turned to Fushimi who was, at the moment, attempting not to laugh until his/her sides hurt. 'Well, other than that...I think he's ready.'

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'...no, you can't use your original username in Net Go, because I don't have the password to Hikaru's account, and seeing as you were pretty computer illiterate at that time that you don't know the password and you had to get Hikaru to type it for you. No, contacting Hikaru is out of the question. No, even if you were to be able to successfully use a telephone without accidentally dropping the receiver _again_, don't you think that the mere fact that your Hikaru receiving a phone call from his supposedly dead and gone Go teacher would raise a lot of questions?' Chiaki patiently answered the rapid-fire stream of questions Sai had as they slowly strolled around the newer districts of Kyoto.

'_Date_, _date_, I want to play with Hikaru!' Sai almost sobbed into the sleeves of his loose, slightly baggy shirt with slightly longer than normal sleeves. By some trial and error, the two foxes finally managed to persuade the ex-ghost to get out of Heian-era clothing and into something slightly more normal. Even if it was slightly baggy jeans paired with a slightly baggy shirt that made Sai look several degrees thinner than first thought, and the fact that Sai refused to let go of his fan didn't help. However...they still couldn't get him to cut his hair. Finally, after a long tiff...

'Can't I just wear my normal hairstyle?' Sai whined, motioning to the queue where his copious locks were currently plaited into.

'Do you _want_ to look like a girl?' Chiaki testily replied as they turned to the nearby markets. Immediately regretting his words at looking at Sai's face, Chiaki spotted a nearby Go salon. 'Okay, remember, no one should know your name. Go in there, and stay there, and play _shidougo_ or something until I pick you up. Do you have the money Fushimi gave you for this, and _not_ to destroy?'

One of the toughest subjects was explaining exactly _what_ money was to someone who had never used it in their entire life. Sai was after all, one of the Fujiwara nobles, and thus one of the 'people above the clouds' and thus have never been in contact with the 'unclean' things of Shinto, such as money. After explaining what money was, Fushimi left a ten thousand yen note in front of Sai. Chiaki barely got there fast enough to stop Sai from destroying the note for its 'uncleanliness'. Fushimi had left part of the shrine's donations, arguing that it was his anyway, and Chiaki could go to Kyoto to pick some ingredients up.

Sai patted his left pocket, where an insignificant amount of coins Fushimi called 'pocket change Sai can't attempt to tear' currently took residence. 'Yes, a few,' he replied, a bit uncertain over being near money, for the first time in his life.

'Good.' So saying, Chiaki left for the ingredients, leaving Sai to enter human company, for the first time since his return...

The comforting _pachi, pachi _of Go stones on _kaya_ and spruce wood _goban _was the first sensation that greeted Sai as he stepped in. Sai immediately felt calmer; this was a haven for playing Go, safe neutral ground. He had walked in, paid the requisite fee to the girl manning the counter, as he had seen Hikaru do so many times, and signed his name on the proffered clipboard with the position left blank, seeing as he was still uncertain exactly where did he rank in the Go hierarchy now.

Soon he found an opponent in an old man who appeared to be one of the strongest amateurs in the Kansai area and immediately proceeded to dominate the board. Sai felt happy, very much so, as he continued to place the stones on the board one after another, marvelling that now he could play, even against someone not really as skilled, happy even after playing several games with Fushimi that he had a physical body. True, there were occasional drawbacks such as adapting to a regular schedule for meals, but on the bright side, he didn't need someone to hold the stones for him, he could play by himself, he could touch the stones, the smooth Go stones that paved out the way to the perfect game...

'_Makemashita.'_ His opponent murmured as he bowed, Sai doing the same. 'Thank you for the game.'

'You're really strong, you know, for a young one. Why, if I didn't know better, you could have been Touya Koyo himself! I competed against him once, you know, in my junior high years. Got crushed immediately, so much that I quit the _Insei_ soon after. Say, what did I do wrong?'The old man continued, and soon the game had evolved into an animated discussion, Sai finding that teaching was enjoyable. True, attempting to break out of Fushimi's tie pattern was challenging, even for a Go genius like Sai. Even so, teaching was another challenge. Sai deeply appreciated the challenges of _shidougo_, explaining in terms familiar to the casual player the mistake in the game, how they could advance, what not to do in the future...

'Play me.' A voice sounded beside Sai, who jumped in his seat. The long-haired man looked up from the _goban_ to see a teenage boy with a head full of hair that he'd bleached white, dressed in jeans, black-and-white horizontal striped shirt and frowning in concentration at the _goban_. 'I'm Kiyoharu Yashiro, please, play me.'

And Sai acquiesced. The two began playing, Sai not pausing at all when Yashiro, playing Black, took the first hand _tengen_. White continued to play aggressively, until by the tenth hand Black was completely thrashed beyond salvaging. Crippling the monopoly of Black in the centre, White still continued to charge forward, but Black fought back, both not keen to give in to each other.

_It's just like fighting Shindo_, so Yashiro thought. _No, it's even better than Shindo's. I've never thought that such a strong person wouldn't be a pro. He's certainly not registered in the Kansai area. Maybe in the Tokyo Institute? Yeah, that would probably make more sense._

'_Makemashita,_' Yashiro stated dully after the fiftieth hand, fully aware that the difference in their strength was about the height of Angel Falls. It was much like swimming up a waterfall; gravity plus force of pouring water sends Yashiro with his head in the clouds reeling back to earth. _What god or demon are you...?_

'Thank you for the wonderful game, Kiyoharu San.' Sai began to gush, waving his fan at certain sections of the _goban_, even when the sun had already begun to set, from what Yashiro could see from the window of the salon. 'Your play is very daring, with a lot of unnecessary risks involved in it, but you definitely had skill enough to pull off most of whatever takes your fancy. It's quite unlike any other play I've ever seen.'

_From the one who managed to pull a twenty moku win off me?_ Yashiro thought, but was nevertheless pleased. _If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was a title holder I was up against. I got completely crushed. What is this guy...?_

'What is your name?' Yashiro asked as Sai stood up as if to leave.

'My name...is not a matter of your concern.' Sai stated, walking out of the now gloomy Go salon.

Later when, after much persuasion, the girl allowed Yashiro to see the clipboard; Kiyoharu saw the fleeting imprint of the Ghost of Net Go, the strongest Internet player who managed to win against the man regarded as closest to the Divine Move, Touya Koyo.

_Sai._

'A rhino?' Yashiro stared in disbelief. 'Who's that?'

_**Per essere continuato...

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_**I've always wanted to try that joke...box with players inside...*snicker*...Rhino...cute...hahahahaha...This is a joke meant to be shared with those familiar with the storyline. If you do not understand, just laugh. It's not a big deal.  
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_**The word 'date' is pronounced DA-te, meaning a form of the word 'but' in Japanese Romaji. **_

_**A tengen refers to a stone in the middle of the board. First hand tengen means the first hand, Black, which goes first; places the stone on centre coordinate 10-10. This is a pretty risky move as it means that the stone can be easily surrounded and taken, thus causing Black to lose out in territory at the centre. Also, if no one can remember Yashiro Kiyoharu, it's that white haired guy somewhere around the end that plays very daring and risky moves.**_

_**Moku is another word here for points. Although actually, if they were playing a fair game, it would have been smarter for White to play conservatively as there is the Komi rule which gives White a 5.5 point lead in the beginning. As it stands now, it means that Sai has a 14.5 point lead on Yashiro. Since most tournaments are won by a half-point win, Sai's twenty-point victory here would mean that Yashiro is that weak, Sai is that powerful, or this is their difference in skill. If a two-point victory means a trouncing, that the winner had won by pure skill, and then Sai's victory would mean that well, he's just that good. Although when I thought of this game, Yashiro resigned around midgame, so whether the difference between them would increase or decrease, I do not know.**_

_**The Angel Falls of Venezuela are regarded as the tallest waterfall in the world.**_

_**Please review!**_


	3. Chapter 3: The Freed Fox

_**I love writing...that is, if I could tie up every story I had within a few chapters or in an oneshot. I hate the way I have to iron out most of the plot holes in the story before it's ready for posting. This is rendered worse by that I also do my own beta and therefore have to work harder to find mistakes. Still, when I click the In Progress to Complete, I really get that satisfaction that there's a complete story out there with my name as the authoress.**_

_**This story got another 2 reviews! Lovely, lovely! **_

_**LLS

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_**The Freed Fox**_

'How much time has passed between here and now?' Fushimi repeated, frowning slightly. 'You disappeared to the spiritual plane on May fifth. Forty-nine days later, you were due for judgment, but because the nature of your lives was indeterminate, your judgment was ultimately debated here and there for about a year in human terms. Then, after three months, you finally appeared in your hearing and came to me, and following that a year, a month and three weeks passed. Sp in total, you and this Hikaru you keep talking about have not met at all in about...two years. Fujiwara San? Are you alright?' Fushimi became concerned.

Sai had frozen in a way you could only expect from the truly shocked, or a statue. _Two years since then..._ 'I need to find Hikaru,' he stated abruptly. 'I need to find Hikaru, I...'

'You need to calm down,' Fushimi firmly replied. 'Sit. Drink some tea. _Think_. The current capital is a large maze that has changed significantly since then. Even if you could remember your landmarks, it is more than likely that you will be lost in there. Tomorrow, Chiaki will be returning to the new capital, and I will ask him to take you along. I myself must stay here, until one of the foxes return to oversee the place.'

Sai drank politely from his cup, already feeling the initial rush of panic being dispelled. Hikaru was probably fine, he would be sixteen now, he can take care of himself...and he still has Go. And soon, Sai would meet him again in Tokyo, where they could catch up...yes, that would be a good idea...except that _how could Fushimi have known that?_

Instantly, Sai's purple eyes flicked to look at Fushimi, who answered him with a small, serene smile and a rising of the eyebrows, emphasizing those beautiful topaz orbs. 'You are the type of person who, when not in front of a _goban_, is very expressive, even in the slightest movement. I presume that would be quite appealing to several people who see you every day during the Heian era. It is a small wonder the other Go teacher of the emperor was jealous of you to such a degree, Fujiwara San.'

Suppressing a small shudder at the distant memory, Sai questioned, 'Jealous?'

'Yes,' Fushimi nodded. 'You have no idea of the impact you yourself have on people, Fujiwara San. You are young, shining, talented and beautiful. Precocious, beautiful, yet innocent; never had there been a more fatal attraction than that combination the gods had given you. The other one, he was dull and always standing in the shadows compared to you, much like how Genji Hikaru stood out in the court of the _Genji Monogatari_. The desire to throw you into shadows, into oblivion, had influenced the man to cheat, even in front of his augustness the emperor, _ne_?'

Sai didn't have an answer to that.

The fox god laughed, a distinctive _kon_, _kon_ of a fox's bark that Sai sometimes found intimidating. 'Well, tomorrow the child goes out into the great wide world. I would wish you good luck with your journey.'

* * *

Fujiwara no Sai was a man of simple tastes. His own travelling kit normally was composed of nothing much more than the clothes on his back, his hat, and his fan, for the last thousand years that he had been a ghost. Therefore, he was naturally overwhelmed when Chiaki plopped a travelling bag [the kind Hikaru's mother would tell her son to take, but which her son would always reject on the grounds that it was too old fashioned, although Sai normally insisted that it was sensible to take the larger bag as it could hold more things, such as an extra _goban_] on his lap after unceremoniously shaking the Go prodigy awake.

The trip itself passed in mostly Chiaki hustling him onto a train [was it a bullet train, Sai wondered], the scenery passing in a blur of greens and blues and spots of light here and there as Sai looked out at the scenery, making quiet sounds of appreciation especially as they passed Mount Fuji, then Chiaki hustling him out again even though Sai wanted to see 'Fuji San' again.

'Move, Fujiwara, I'm going to be late for my job.' Chiaki growled at him. Over their time together, their relationship had grown to mostly second name basis, with Sai addressing Chiaki as his name, and Chiaki 'Fujiwara'.

'Job?' Sai echoed as he was thrown into a taxi. 'Stupid traffic,' he heard another growl, as Chiaki got in.

'Yes, my day job. Despite several difficulties, I have managed to transfer from Kyoto to Tokyo on such short notice, and am now going to start teaching high school tomorrow. However, I now have to turn in several documents to notify the school. I hate bureaucracy.' Chiaki complained.

Sai fought not to laugh at the man who had taught him many useful things in the past year.

'You, on the other hand...' Chiaki fell silent at the very prospect of the two choices laid out in front of him. 'Tomorrow is Friday, so the day after tomorrow I'll take you around Tokyo to at least familiarise yourself with the environment. While I'm at it I might as well get you a spare phone. But for now...'

'Perhaps I could go to a Go salon over there?' Sai pouted as he asked, as the taxi slowed down as a crossroads and he spotted a Go salon that just looked very familiar...

'Well...you have money with you, and I seriously don't think you can get into any trouble in a Go salon, so okay.' Chiaki shrugged. 'It's also not like I can keep you with me and Fushimi forever. We agreed with the gods that you had to be independent soon, so it's probably for the best.'

However, even as Sai stepped out of the taxi onto the kerb, Chiaki was still frowning as the car pulled away...

* * *

Ogata Seiji glared at the little insidious red no-smoking sign that had recently made its mark around a certain area of the Touya Go salon, even as he pulled out a cigarette. Although thankfully there was a smoking section, it still did not help his mood that his recent enemy had been cropping up even more often around the places he frequented. He could understand it in the Go Institute's library; the _kifu _were old and pretty irreplaceable after all to lose to fire, and he could understand the sign in some other areas such as the Room of Profound Darkness as well; it was blasphemous even to light a cigarette in there, but it still did not help him feel better about it. Oh no, he was all for the Institute's attempts to attracts new blood; the sooner a new wave of Go professionals came, the sooner decrepit old Kuwabara would be flushed out.

Even as he struck the lighter, he could hear excited whispers around the salon. On hindsight, it was to be expected; casual players of the salon knew the _Juudan_ as a pro and as Touya ex-Meijin's student. He soon ignored the problem to his latest upcoming game against Kurata 8-dan in his next match as the defending _Juudan_. Usually a task he embraced with fervour, he found the idea of playing a familiar pro again a bit...boring. Recently, he found that his hands had been jerky and mechanical, easily predictable, which scared him no end. What if someone had exploited that weakness...?

He was broken out of his reverie as he noticed the figure he had assumed to be a woman was staring at him. On closer inspection, the woman turned out to be a long-haired man who apparently favoured the out-of-date _miko_ style and dressed in baggy white shirt and equally baggy jeans. The man was...well, what most girls would refer to as a...what was that term...oh yeah, _bishonen_, too pretty for his own good.

No, wait, he wasn't staring at Ogata. His eyes were definitely focused on the _kifu_, the pupils skilfully tracking the exchange between Black and White. Ogata felt slightly surprised; few pros could read as fast as this person could. 'Do you want to play a game?' he found himself saying, and secretly hoping that this person had the Go skill to back such phenomenal reading speed. Only a seasoned player could have taken in the entire _kifu _at a glance.

'Yes, thank you very much,' the newcomer murmured.

'Okay, let's play,' Ogata found himself saying as he set out the _goban_ and _goke_, giving Black to the newcomer and taking White. _Since I'm here, I might as well play Shidougo_, he thought. 'How many handicaps do you want?'

The man's expression changed immediately to something resembling offense. 'I would not need a handicap, thank you for offering,' he whispered his reply, as if it was _rude_ and Ogata was looking down on him.

'Very well then,' Ogata replied, cracking his knuckles, 'Black starts. Please.'

'Please.' The game progressed from there, Black and White both claiming a star point and expanding from there. _Black is winning, _Ogata noted, _although I'm not playing it. This guy is good; no, better, his play is comparable to some of the best of history. Shuusaku's _kosumi_ there and that _hane_ had pretty much killed off my stones in the centre...hold on, my stones?_

By Black's tenth move, Ogata had realised that it really was insulting, stupid and plain idiocy to offer this man a handicap. The man, although in possession of almost no fashion sense –Ogata believed only someone whose mother bought their clothes would actually wear something that baggy-, was also in possession of an equally high skill at Go. In fact, high was almost too mild a word to describe the level of skill Ogata was now battling against.

In reaction to the surprising assault Black had started, Ogata changed strategy into a two-pronged attack, wondering if his opponent would be able to see through what he was attempting.

The man had stilled in response, his eyes intently studying the board. Sighing as he picked up another stone expertly with his fingertips, the _pachi _of the stone on wood echoed, as least to Ogata it did.

As that last stone was placed, the man's true agenda was revealed in a horrible, horrible trap, as White's strong defence came crashing down, with Black winning the entire centre area. Ogata conceded defeat soon after, realising that he just couldn't win.

Black and White had tied.

* * *

'Oh, you're done,' Sai heard Chiaki say behind him. Looking up, he saw Chiaki, now wearing wire-rimmed glasses. 'And it looks like you were attempting to force a tie too.'

_Force a tie?_ Ogata looked at the board again. True, there were some areas that could have been taken, thus ensuring Black's complete victory, which Ogata had completely overlooked in favour of defending himself from Black's assault. _Had i been hallucinating? Even if so, how can anyone be able to force a tie through a pro, especially on a title holder? Even Touya Koyo would have difficulty with a feat like that. _

The very long-haired man stood up. 'Do we have to go, Chiaki? I don't want to. This guy is fun to play!'

_Fun to play? _Ogata privately thought, studying the newcomer. _Who is this man who can challenge the pros? He's so much like a child, that if I hadn't played him before I would never have believed that this man is so good._

Chiaki turned to look at him, a spark of recognition clearly evident in those sharp brown eyes. Ogata felt like the last steak he'd seen his last girlfriend chop; the appraising look she'd given it as the sharp knife dissected bits and pieces off was pretty creepy. _Now I know how meat feels,_ he thought._ Talk about being scared vegetarian._

'I think you have beaten the poor guy up enough, Fujiwara,' Chiaki told the long-haired man. 'Besides, there are some other places to visit. No, you can always come back here soon. Yes, yes, I'll also leave you at some other place tomorrow. Yes, if necessary, I'll tie you with an identity bracelet and a map so there's no possible way you can get lost.' Chiaki patiently answered Fujiwara's funnily childish questions as he pushed an irate Fujiwara out of the door, to the stares of the salon's many customers.

Ogata got up and walked up to the counter girl. 'Ichikawa San, could I please consult the register?'

'Sure, why? It's probably fifty years too early for that guy to beat Ogata Sensei, right?' the girl asked curiously, passing the clipboard over.

'Nothing much,' Ogata muttered, scanning the clipboard. One particular entry on it particularly jumped out at him:

_Fujiwara Sai  
Ranking: Indeterminate._

_I take that back.

* * *

_

Ten seconds later, Ogata wondered why in the seven hells had he chosen to run out of the Go salon at breakneck speed, desperately looking for a long-purple-haired, tall bishonen in baggy clothing, as he stood in the midst of busy Tokyo traffic. _They could have gone for a cab...No, not at this hour, that's stupid; they would've been caught in a traffic jam...a car, maybe? Yes, he's probably gone..._

_Sai_. The Ghost of Net Go had chosen to appear here, in a no-name salon. Ogata could appreciate the irony. Just when he had given up almost all hope of finding the player who had managed to win even Touya Koyo, the very same player had turned up before his eyes. He'd played Sai. Sai had crushed him. Then Sai's guardian, apparently, came to fetch Sai back, and Sai had complained, because he couldn't play Ogata again, and Sai had said that the game was 'fun'.

In a way, Ogata had to agree. Even though he'd lost, he'd had fun. In a bid to win, he had tried a strategy he'd never thought of before, and he'd pulled that off quite spectacularly. Ogata could finally see, truly, why so many had wanted to play Sai again.

_Yes, yes, I'll drop you off at some place tomorrow..._Like a tape recorder, Chiaki's voice played over and over again.

It is time, Ogata decided, to interrogate...I mean, consult, Shindo again.

* * *

'Ogata _Juudan_ has improved, 'Sai commented happily as he slurped up his ramen. Although truthfully, he would rather eat it quietly, but he was just so happy to get a physical body and be able to taste Tokyo-style ramen after Hikaru had raved about it for so long that he wanted to try it the way Hikaru always did, slurp straight up, which he would always admonish his student for being rude, at which said student would cheekily talk back and insist that this was the best way to eat ramen, Sai...

_Hikaru..._

'_Ne,_ Chiaki San, when can I see Hikaru? I want to see him again, I've been good and not gone immediately to find him, so when can I...?' He left the question hanging there, leaving Chiaki eating his _miso_ ramen.

'I know you miss your student, and you want to see him, and see how much he's improved,' Chiaki carefully spoke. 'Of course, no one is stopping you from seeing him. Well, apart from that question of where did you get a body and who are you and the fact that you played on the Internet as a ghost, I can't really spot any difficult questions. But, consider this question: do you really want to meet your student as you are now?'

Sai raised his head from the bowl at that. _What_?

'As you are right now, you have currently no assets, no job, and no valuables. You do not even have qualifications that would allow you to get decent jobs, nor do you possess any other important skills most companies would look for, other than playing Go. So, do you want to appear before this Hikaru as you are now, or do you want to get at least some semblance of a life in order before you meet Hikaru?' Chiaki wisely explained.

Sai's eyes had widened. _I had never thought of that..._

He had noticed that Chiaki had slid over a flyer to him. Picking it up, he noticed that it advertised a free-for-all tournament for amateurs, with the grand prize at ten thousand yen with the right to represent Japan in the International Amateur Tournament next month.

_Interesting..._

Sai looked up from it, only to see that Chiaki had gone back into devouring ramen like there was no tomorrow. Only this time, Sai was smiling.

_Wait for me, Hikaru. I'm coming.

* * *

_

_**Actually, I wanted to write this chapter longer but I got a bit lazy, so maybe I'll just work on the other chapter. **_

_**A kosumi is when you surround a star point or something like it. A hane is placing a stone besides a stone on your opponent's flank. I apologise if I got the terms mixed up; I have never played Go before. **_

_**Juudan is one of the special titles given to pros in tournaments. It means '10-dan' a cut above the normal 9-dan player.**_

_**Please review!**_


	4. Chapter 4: The Exposed Fox

_**As usual, I do not own Hikaru no Go.**_

_**I appreciate the 3 reviews and several Author Alerts/ Story Alerts/ Favorites I have received since the third chapter. **_

_**And now, Sai steps out into the public world...

* * *

**_

_**The Exposed Fox**_

Chiaki grinned when he had ambled out of his room the next morning. On the low coffee table were a foldable _goban_ and a note, written in elegant _hiragana_**: Gone to competition in Shinjuku. Do not expect to be back until very late. Didn't bring lunch.**

**Sai.**

'Atta boy,' the _kitsune_ chuckled, 'Go make yourself known.'

* * *

Admittedly, Ogata wondered, when he wanted to interrogat..._consult_ Shindo, he did not really expect to do it in front of Touya Akira.

'What?' Shindo had demanded, twin sets of piercing eyes glaring at Ogata. Ogata suddenly felt like a very young student before the _Meijin_ being reproached for interrupting a game. He hadn't tried anything like that for the next time after.

Wondering how to put the question in such a way that Shindo couldn't wriggle out of without answering his questions to some degree, Akira placed a black stone on the _goban_. 'It's your turn,' Touya muttered.

'Hey, that's a stupid move; I could've gotten that cluster in the left!' Shindo's attention had turned from Ogata to the _goban_ again.

'No you couldn't, I would have taken down any stones you even try to move in that direction.'

'Well, not if I challenge your cluster in another direction!'

'Then I'll just move here!' _PACHI._

'No you can't, I'll respond here!' _PACHI._

_Children, the lot of them..._Ogata mentally cursed, then stopped abruptly as Akira got up, saying 'I've to go for the free-for-all tourney the Go Association is hosting today. They've invited me as the emcee there. Shindo, do you want to come along?'

'I'll take you there,' Ogata offered as Shindo made some sort of loud obnoxious remark about Yashiro coming over soon.

* * *

'Were you going to ask about Sai?' Akira asked as Ogata stopped in front of a long traffic jam. Ogata looked surprised, which is to say, he raised an eyebrow at Akira. God forbid Ogata actually jump in his seat at the young Touya's comment.

'There has been absolutely no interesting matches around Shindo recently. He hasn't played any of the higher-_dan_ players, or made any brilliantly spectacular matches, come to think about it. His last interesting match was the Hokuto Cup with was in June, and surely you do not need to ask him about that in October. Considering that it is _you_ we are talking about, the only subject that would get you so riled up with Shindo is Sai and Sai alone.' Akira explained.

'Very good, Mr Holmes,' Ogata replied dryly. The traffic light turned green, the car now moving. 'So what can you deduce from me suddenly turning up to consult Shindo?'

'That either you have met Sai, or have seen a particularly brilliant amateur and believe that it is Sai, or, more unlikely, you have played Sai and lived to tell the tale.' Akira listed.

Ogata suddenly felt some respect for Akira's deductive capabilities. At the same time, he also cursed the Conan Doyle Collection Kaiou High School was putting its students through in the cross-literature programme. Accursed teenage cynicism plus recent exposure to mystery novels plus Touya Akira equals Touya Akira seemingly able to read minds or body language. _Come to think of it, that is a very interesting line of thought..._

However, before he could pursue the train of thought that maybe Conan Doyle's books could help in reading body language so that Ogata could read exactly what there were placing the next stone and possibly help in defeating opponents like, say, Touya Meijin, the car had arrived at the community hall where the Go Association were hosting their free-for-all tourney. Immediately, Akira had jumped out of the car and thanked Ogata. Not for a second was Ogata fooled by the mask Akira had presented to him, or the look that clearly said, _don't intimidate Shindo or I'll kill you_. 'I don't like my friends upset,' Akira stated as a parting shot, before running into the hall.

Ogata slotted out a cigarette from the handy box he kept in the glove compartment, wondering where was Sai now. Eating some poor amateur alive, perhaps...

* * *

On the contrary, Sai was not eating some poor amateur alive, or at least, not _literally_. After the last guy had slumped off mumbling 'incredible, I've lost', the bell had rung to announce the end of the preliminaries and the start of lunch. No one felt any pity for him; that amateur was famous for picking on weaker players and decimating any unlucky person that had to play with him. Fujiwara was the lesser evil. Most of the contestants were somewhere with food, or playing a casual game, but Sai just sat there, motionless, staring at his hands as if they were some other person's grafted onto his arms.

_What has happened to me?_ _I did not remember possessing this kind of skill before. True, no matter how I look at the board, it is my Go, but something has changed...it's as if my Go has been polished into something brighter than before. This kind of honing...who could have..._

_A light flickered._

_Fushimi Sama. During that one year, constantly, I've been playing with Fushimi Sama. I've never won, but also never lost. Is this the result of trying to climb the insurmountable wall...or is it Fushimi Sama's plan all along? _Sai wondered. _What skill...what skill at manipulation, and what experience to back up such a plan to teach without the student realising it. Could I reach such a pinnacle one day...?_

'That's a very good game,' a soft voice murmured beside him. Sai jumped, realising that one of the people he'd wanted to see was standing beside him, and that the end of his plait was almost on the floor. 'Touya Akira?' he almost shouted.

'Yes,' the boy replied, craning his head at the _goban_. 'This is very good play. Are you considering entering the pros?'

'Yes,' Sai happily exclaimed. 'Do you want to play?'

'Hmm...Yes,' Akira immediately grabbed the opposite chair and sat. 'I'll take White.'

'Very well then,' Sai replied, taking the _goke_ with black stones, all trace of geniality gone as a stone hovered over the _goban_. _Pachi. 17-4._

Akira's eyes narrowed dangerously. _Pachi. 4-3._

Another stone was placed. _Pachi. 16-17._

_Pachi. 4-17._

_Pachi, 15-3._

_Pachi, Pachi...the memories echoed of a goban, black slate stones and white shell stones being placed on the board, framing out a movement, a dance against black and white, a sword dance in which the young tiger was decapitated...tick tock tick tock, haa huu, haa huu...pachi, pachi, pachi, pachi..._

_What is going on? This game..._

Childhood trauma was probably the worst thing to shake off. Akira himself had had nightmares in his youth that had not all been related to Go, but the most impactful had always been Go-related. The shadow of a particular game began to show itself, and the young Go prodigy, even five years after the fact, still felt scared and respectful, which was probably good for him in the long run. Or maybe it just gave him a huge fear of the Shuusaku opening strategy, which was not a good thing at all, seeing as he'd be too terrified that he'd be crushed every time someone played that.

_You're not Shindo, so who are you? Why do you know this game, how did you know this game? Only me and Shindo had been there, during that fateful game...I had never shown it to anyone, and I don't think Shindo actually remembers..._

_Wait, there had been another person. That person...the Internet's strongest Go player...he had played in this exact same fashion too. The exact same fashion...he's testing me?_

_Tok, tok. _Akira abruptly looked up at the strange sound, to see the opponent. He'd not actually paid any attention to the man's features, but now he noted the smooth, unmarred jaw, the thin youthful features, the bright purple eyes that sparked as the man brought out a white folding fan and opened it, hiding his mouth behind it. Akira strongly suspected that the man was smiling behind his fan, which Shindo had probably been influenced by him to imitate.

Akira had wisely chose not to believe in ghosts until then, when the ghosts of his own past began to make its way back at him, the past rearing its ugly head once more. He'd felt fear once with Shindo, but that fear had been rapidly dispelled in that year. Now, the very same fear was back, stronger than ever, as Akira studied this man.

Finally, his eyes deigned to stray towards the name tag on the side, which he'd neglected to read before checking the game. The characters leapt out at him, with a sudden desire to kick himself for being so naive, so stupid...Ogata's reaction, Shindo's adversity towards Ogata..._this game..._

_Sai._

_Fujiwara Sai._

_He's here.

* * *

_

'...W-where did you _get this_?' Hikaru yelled, throwing down the _kifu_ to glare at Yashiro.

'I told you, I played a chap in a Go salon in Kyoto.' Yashiro answered patiently, having dealt with Hikaru before in the Hokuto Cup training in the last two years. The trick was to remain calm, since Hikaru normally had enough emotions for two, and more to spare. Of course, Hikaru had been sweet-tempered ever since he'd beat Ko Yeongha in the last Hokuto Cup, but still, you never know when that would change. Shindo Hikaru was probably one of the most inconsistent Go pros on the planet.

'Funny guy too, he had this really long hair and baggy clothing, and he kept toting this fan around, so I immediately thought of you. Also, I took the liberty of checking the salon's register. Very odd, this Sai fellow, didn't even leave a ranking to check with...Oi, Shindo, you okay?' Yashiro became concerned. _What happened to the noisy Shindo ten seconds ago? This is really creepy; he looks like he's been possessed..._

_Could there be another Sai here? And why in Kyoto? No, this is the one and only Fujiwara no Sai's style, no mistake. And he's playing Go. He can pick up the stones on his own, he can set them himself, and he can play...he's got a physical body. Sai's here. He's here. But why Kyoto?_

_Because that's his hometown? _Common Sense suggested. _Don't spirits like to stray very close to where they lived or where they died? And Sai was born and committed suicide in the old capital, Kyoto. Surely if he chose to haunt a certain place, much less get a physical body to come back, won't he choose to come back to his hometown?_

Hikaru felt like kicking himself. All the time he'd been running around Innoshima and Tokyo, and Sai had been a mere train ride away. Maybe a very long train ride, but still a train ride.

_Sai...if you were here, then why didn't you find me?

* * *

_

Touya Akira wasn't having a very good time. Truthfully, he wondered if any other time was as bad as the fact that not only had the game been interrupted, but the Go Association itself had done the interrupting on the pretext that a pro playing an amateur was unbecoming.

For once, Akira longed to fight against the restraints granted with his five-_dan_ status or his role as the tourney emcee. But then Sai had stood up and proceeded to the judges' table to receive his opponent for the quarter-finals. So instead of playing, the young 5-_dan _was forced to announce the eight winners for the preliminaries and then comment on the games. True, some of them were interesting and the players played innovative hands, but still, the real stars hadn't appeared, except for one...

'Game four, Fujiwara Sai against Toudou Tarou.' Akira felt a slight twinge of pity for the other guy, other than having the misfortune to be born to parents not blessed with creativity to give him an original name, he had to face Sai in this match. Whispers began to abound within the ousted amateurs, speculations about _Sai_ and _Here? In this room? Sai, the legendary one?_

In _nigiri_, Fujiwara won Black, which internally made Akira mentally wince even more. _The poor guy._

True to form, Black started with Shuusaku's opening strategy. White responded beautifully, and fought to stay on top, true, but internally Akira continued to wince as Black continued. The game was quick and brutal, especially as Black placed the last stone at 15-18.

White had never stood a chance.

* * *

'I think I went a bit harsh on him,' Sai murmured to no one in particular as the hall emptied. He spotted Chiaki walking up to him with a _bento_ but made no move, reacting only when Chiaki made as if to whack him.

'You look...odd.' Chiaki pronounced. 'In fact, I think I've never seen you act like this. What's wrong?'

'I accidentally crushed someone too harshly,' Sai muttered sadly, his head bowed.

'That bad? From what I heard, you totalled the man.' Chiaki muttered. 'Even so, congratulations on winning the game. We're going for dinner, come on.'

No sooner had Chiaki uttered those words that Sai heard another shout, one that he'd heard a long time ago, directed at the person whom Akira thought had defeated the young Touya in a game, even if he couldn't hold the stones expertly that time, even though he'd never played anyone before...

'Wait!' Akira yelled, chasing up to the two men. Pausing to catch his breath first, he panted, 'Are you Sai?'

'That's my name,' Sai kindly replied, 'so what do you want with me?'

'Do you know Shindo? Shindo Hikaru...' Akira's voice trailed off. Shindo was a Go pro, Akira realised, and considered in _Go Weekly_ as one of the rising stars of the pro world. Who outside the Go world hadn't heard of him? It was an unintelligent question, even to Akira, who suddenly felt very, very idiotic for running up to this man after the match. Even if he played like _Sai_, running up to ask a person if they knew a Go pro was simply not done.

'Oh yes, I knew him,' Sai murmured as if in a dream. 'He was my student, why wouldn't I?'

* * *

'Yes, this is _Sai's_ work all right,' Waya Yoshitaka muttered as he went over Yashiro's _kifu _with a magnifying glass in the Touya Go salon. 'His style has evolved, and apparently he's gotten a bit more aggressive, but when you get down to brass tacks the only thing I can tell you is this: this is, without a doubt, a game played by the Internet's strongest Go player. Where'd you get this? I thought all _kifu _of _Sai's_ games had been found by either me or Yang Hai._'_

Yashiro looked at the redhead as if said redhead was insane. 'This was a game played at a nondescript Go salon in the newer districts of Kyoto, on an old _goban_, about two days ago.'

Waya had, frankly, never been as shocked as right now, as Yashiro quickly imparted all details of one of Net Go's many hidden secrets, the elusive amateur that played better than any pro. The imagined wizened old man with callused hands from playing Go, hunched over a computer keyboard and mouse with a thoughtful, fierce expression on his face as he clicked on the mouse to create black and white circles across a virtual _goban _was erased to reveal a young, long-haired _bishonen_ that Waya thought was too girly to be real. The strange thing was that Shindo had agreed with that description of _Sai_, which finally confirmed once and for all that Shindo knew _Sai_. Waya had never felt as strong an urge to throttle Shindo as right now for keeping one of Net Go's biggest and best in the shadows.

'So Sai is in Kyoto?' Waya had sputtered in disbelief, 'Why the hell there?'

'How would I know?' Hikaru yelled back. 'It's not like I'm his babysitter or something!'

'Yeah well, if he was in Kyoto then why didn't he log on? Surely he can connect to the net from there, right?'

_Frankly, I don't think he knows what a password is,_ Hikaru thought. _I was always there to type the password, log in and move the mouse for him. And what's more, I don't think Sai actually knows how to use any technology to speak of. Oh Kami Sama, is he alright...?_

'Seriously, what kind of person dresses like this Sai? Baggy jeans and shirt, with his hair in a _queue_,' Yashiro shuddered. Hikaru was just about to snarl at him to shut up when the words sank in.

_Baggy jeans and shirt; that's modern clothing, which Sai doesn't have, and a queue? Sai wouldn't wear that unless he was forced, so either Sai has managed to find a job, or...someone's with him. But who's with him, and why? If he had a physical body, then why has he stayed away till now...? Sai..._

'Shindo!' he heard Waya hiss and jumped as Akira registered in his peripheral vision. Gathering a snarl on his face, he began with a 'What...?'

The snarl completely died on his face when Akira was registered as dragging a man along by the wrist into the salon, a man with hip-long purple black hair tied in the traditional Heian way, large amethyst eyes, and soft, beautiful features. Although the clothing had changed, Hikaru could never mistake that chibi face as Sai attempted to release Akira's death grip from his wrist, complaining about losing feeling in his hand, even as his vision was misting over.

_Sai._

_Sensei.

* * *

_

_**Nigiri is how the players decide who goes first. Mostly it involves the player who wants Black guessing how many stones White holds in one hand, even or odd, and they get Black if the guess is correct. **_

_**The first game is the one where Sai completely defeats Touya. It's quite well-known, that one, the kifu are available on the Internet. **_

_**The second game is Honinbo Shuusaku 6-dan vs. Nakagawa Junsetsu 5-dan. I think Shuusaku was being mean; he won by 15 , I pity the other fellow.  
**_


	5. Chapter 5:The Crafty Fox

_**Here, I take the liberty to thank lovelymokana, Just A Fan, Lilin08, merichuel, DYquem, and yamina-chan for supporting me by writing such heartfelt reviews! I sincerely hope that people would love this fic that I have poured my writing skills in. **_

_**I thank you all for taking the trouble to read. By the way, DYquem, I like your fics too.

* * *

**_

_**The Crafty Fox**_

Admittedly, Hikaru had long harboured hopes of meeting Sai, or at least some form or reincarnation of Sai for a long, long time, wondering in whatever spare time his now busy schedule allowed what he would say to Sai when he finally met him again. Hikaru had always thought that he would probably walk up to that Sai, acknowledge him loudly and joyfully, and then punch Sai on the head for disappearing without leaving a word for the student now cut and adrift in the lonely Go world.

Of course, Hikaru, at that time, had never been introduced to Murphy's Law: Whatever that _can_ go wrong, at the worst possible moment, _will_ go wrong.

Sai was still complaining to Akira to let go of his hand, before I can't feel it, it hurts, Akira San, why do you have such a strong grip, it's like that thing Chiaki San calls a vice grip, _ittai_, please let go, when Hikaru abruptly stood up. Some remote part of Hikaru's brain, namely his common sense, was still vainly attempting to point out that they were in a public place when Hikaru sauntered over and broke Akira's iron grip on Sai's forearm.

'Shindo, what are you...' Akira trailed off upon seeing Shindo's face. Shindo could be openly rude, he knew that. Shindo was that kind of hyperactive person whose emotions was really easy to read given enough time to differentiate rude from honest, so Akira had admittedly seen most of Shindo's moods already, especially Shindo's mood swings between Akira beating him and dinner at the nearby _ramen_ stall. However, Akira had admittedly never seen Shindo cry in public.

'S-Sai...'Hikaru stumbled through coherent speech, 'I-is t-that y-you? Really you? Sai?'

Akira had also never heard Shindo stumble in speech, or at least not unless there was a television camera around. _Sai must have been a very important figure in Shindo's life..._

Needless to say, he was _very_ surprised when Sai, for lack of a better word, glomped Hikaru, happily chirping, 'Hikaru, I'm back!'

Nearby, Akira heard Yashiro and Waya make near identical choking sounds. Personally, he felt that was a very good way of expressing what people would feel in this situation, which definitely made Akira's List of Worst Situations to Walk Into, rank three, just below walking into Shindo in the toilet and into the master bedroom. The latter was an accident; one that Akira suspected had accelerated his mental entry into the adult world. Not in a good way.

It was in this awkward tableau, seeing as Sai had fallen silent upon seeing the salon's agog and silent audience that Isumi Shinichirou walked into ten seconds later accompanied by none other than Asia's most connected, and one of the most flamboyant, Go pro, Yang Hai.

~``~

* * *

_Cough, cough, hack, hack, Yang Hai, let go of my shoulder...something in Hikaru's brain finally clicked that Sai was real; very real, very physical, and very eye-catching. Very heavy too, seeing as Sai was still taller than him by about a head, even though Hikaru had gotten a growth spurt around six months ago, and therefore had the requisite weight that would come with height. It also did not help that most of Sai's hugs were the type where the arms wrap around your neck so tightly they could be used to strangle someone to death. _

_It was also around this time that Hikaru realised that Sai was now visible, and thus his extremely uncomfortable strangling was now available on public viewing without so much as a censor in sight to hide the fact that Sai was doing the strangling cum hugging, which was really awkward on hindsight as it would require certain explanations of a no, Hikaru is not gay and preferably not the one concerning where Shindo spills his guts nature. So when in doubt..._

'What'd you mean by you couldn't _contact_ me?' Shindo Hikaru's yell could be heard across the street ten minutes later.

'You disappeared suddenly, without saying so much as a goodbye, or even finishing our game, and then I couldn't find you even when I ran all the way to friggin' _Innoshima_ and _back_ to Tokyo to search for Shuusaku's tomb and possibly you haunting it, and I nearly gave up Go, and _now_ you appear two _years_ later without so much as a _warning_ and you tell me that for the past two years you couldn't friggin' contact me!'

'Owie...' Sai whimpered as he nursed the goose egg that had appeared when Hikaru had punched him on the head, then proceeded to drag the disoriented tall young Go genius out of the Go salon and into the ramen shop across the street. Needless to say, he was soon followed by Akira, who was apparently still a bit shell-shocked even though he dragged Sai all the way from the tournament venue to the Go salon, Waya who was excitedly demanding a rematch, Isumi out of concern for the 'poor young man Shindo assaulted, I'd better go check if he's all right', and Yang Hai because he went almost anywhere with Isumi while in Japan. Of course, it was partly to check up on Sai too, for the certain inexplicable reason of the type with how men could always recognise someone who was actually capable of stealing their companions. That long-haired person was attractive, and Yang Hai was admittedly a bit possessive where Isumi was concerned, so do the math.

Anyway, it meant Sai catching up with his student over the store's signature curry _ramen_, as Shindo soon turned to Akira to pump the _other_ girly-haired Go genius for information concerning Sai.

'Sorry, Hikaru...' Sai whimpered, such that Waya almost wondered if this Sai was really the _Sai_. The cool amateur _Sai_ who could play on par with the high pros. Certainly didn't look the part, but Waya never judged the book by its cover, Shindo being a prime example why not to. _Still...this Sai is really young. Is he really that _Sai_?_

Only one way to find out, then... 'I'm taking Black. 17-4,' Waya mutters, just within Sai's hearing over Shindo's and the young Touya's increasingly loud argument which had somehow turned, interestingly, to Touya's fashion sense.

Sai didn't even stop to consider. '15-3,' he replied as he loaded his spoon with _ramen_.

'3-16.'

'5-17.'

'4-3'

'3-5'

'3-8'

'15-16'

This game continued in some time until Waya realised that without a doubt, this was the strength of the Ghost of Go, as Sai was called on the Internet. _What raw talent,_ Waya realised, humbled and also a bit scared. _This is Go on a whole different level; maybe 9-dan, maybe even a title holder's. This is the talent that had won even Touya Koyo, without a single doubt. _

Shindo had learned under this talent. That would explain why he was watched by the pros even before becoming an Insei, some of those the top in Japan. That would explain how Shindo was able to enter the Insei even with some of the most mid-level _kifu _Waya had ever seen, until he was told that Shindo had used the _kifu_ of a game of Triple-Go to get in. If Shindo was the strongest 2-dan, as joked by the pros and Insei, then...where was Sai?

_On a whole different level, _his common sense cheerfully answered, just as a certain slurping sound made itself known to Waya's ears, telling him that not only had Shindo and Sai finished their ramen, Waya was paying if he didn't hurry up.

_Screw it; I'll just ask later.

* * *

_

The staff of the Iwamoto Ramen had grown used to the certain eccentricities of the Go pros that frequented their store. After all, it was stressed, occasionally young, slightly unbalanced people who played a game that seemed to be a metaphor for life for a living and thus had pretty much no other choice than to be the stressed people they actually were. Fine by them; at least Go players were slightly better than the riff-raff some of the other shops got. They ate quietly [except for a certain pro by the name of Shindo Hikaru, who seemed to be unable to understand what was silence], paid quietly, and were seldom drunk [mostly because some of them were underage, but also because if they wanted beer, they'd go to the convenience store, get beer, and then go home and get wasted].

Today, they wondered if they should revise their opinion of Go pros as the trio of young pros noisily pulled a young long-haired man childishly out of the store after the dinner hour, arguing the best place to go now.

'My place!' the redheaded one had shouted.

'No way, it stank the last time I get there! No way I'm going in without the Environment Protection Agency!' the one with bleached bangs yelled at him.

The redheaded one fell silent at that, which told the staff that this pro lived alone...and like most men, didn't have any semblance of the idea of cleaning up, which was immediately more than what they bargained for.

'I'm taking Sai to my place!' Bleached Bangs now proclaimed. 'And no questions asked!'

'Do you still live with your mum?' the redheaded one shot at him, immediately running as Bleached Bangs lunged at him.

Pro, or not, kids will be kids, they decided.

'Chiaki San is actually a very nice person!' Sai exclaimed with his cheeks puffed out, sort of like a puffer fish, when Hikaru expressed a less than glowing opinion of Sai's caretaker. 'He even directed me to an amateur tournament to find people to play with! And he brought me lunch!'

'I bet he's up to something,' Hikaru darkly replied. 'After all, you're Sai. I bet he knows who you are and he's planning to sell you or something.'

'He can't be! Chiaki San was told by Fushimi Sama to take care of me.'

'Meaning in the normal sense, or to sell you?' Hikaru chuckled.

_There was another person with Sai,_ Akira remembered. _Probably this Chiaki person he's talking about. So if Sai knew Shindo as a student, then what relation does Chiaki have to Sai? And if Sai's this good, then why hasn't he participated in tournaments up till now, or entered the pros? Someone with this much talent at Go can't remain hidden for long. His appearance at the free-for-all tournament today already proves that. Many people still remember the match on the Internet; Sai's so-called appearance here is going to make worldwide news soon, especially since the loudmouth Waya knows..._

_Waya knows. Does Shindo know this fact?_

'Oi, Sai, why don't we play a couple of back-to-back games? We can even play Triple-Go!' Shindo exclaimed happily.

'And who would be the unlucky one against three?' that voice that was really too sweet to be a man's replied.

'You, of course!' Hikaru feigned surprise.

Akira decided that Waya was not going to be a problem for tonight, judging from the redhead's expression. The redhead would probably be too busy watching Sai thrashing Shindo right, and then getting thrashed himself later.

_I wonder how Ogata San would react to this news,_ Akira wondered to himself, immediately conjuring a picture of Ogata's so-called surprised expression. Akira filed that away for now, to compare when the bombshell finally dropped that Akira had met Sai not long after him.

Who said Touya Akira didn't have a sense of humour?

* * *

It was twelve bloody _midnight_, Waya swore mentally as a ray of bright light pierced through his thin eyelids, waking him from otherwise uneventful slumber. The four of them had played back to back rounds where Sai had managed to tie all of them until Shindo had finally yawned, made a mistake, and been eaten alive by Sai. Then it was followed by the customary argument, Touya somehow managing to tie another game, and Waya's thrashing on the _goban_ by Sai after Waya made a mistake. After which, for some inexplicable reason, it ended up with them crashing at Shindo's house, with Akira dialling home first, Waya not as he lived alone, and finally Sai who placed a few Go stones on the _goban_ and then rushed to dial back. Shindo had remarked that the bright spark that managed to make Sai remember a telephone number through stone placement coordinates was a genius.

Still, this did not explain who the hell turns on a computer in the middle of the night, Waya decided. Winging it, he cracked open his eyes.

After the usual disorientation as the eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Waya managed to spot a computer monitor with the screen lit, revealing a Go nineteen by nineteen grid with black and white stones apparent on the board. That was Shindo's room he was sleeping in, thus that was Shindo's computer, Waya cleverly deduced, but Shindo's bleached bangs were clearly visible in the dim light as being on the pillow Shindo owned, while Waya and Akira crashed on the guest futons. So who the hell is using the computer..._Sai_.

_The Ghost of Net Go is online, _Waya realised with a thrill jolting him from his stupor.

And true to form, Sai's form materialised in the room's only chair, his face clearly thoughtful as he moved the mouse and clicked the cursor to place a white stone, a beautiful formation that did not necessarily spell a beautiful death for Black.

Very few people had actually seen the Ghost of Net Go play, as in, sit somewhere and play. Shindo Hikaru had. Tonight, Waya Yoshitaka would be granted the same honour to watch the Ghost on his prowl through the Net Go community, discreetly reviving a legend most of the Net Go community had long forgotten.

Tonight, _Sai _returned.

* * *

**The American Mid-West...**

'Unbelievable,' Chief Executive Officer Miles Conrad, ranked eighth in the World Amateur Go rankings whispered, 'I'm bring thrashed again.'

**The Netherlands...**

'_Sai. _Sai is playing!' In a certain university campus, students could still hear their assistant professor's excited shouts, along with half the people on campus and probably outside it too.

**Beijing, China...**

Lee Lishin, last ranked number one on the Amateur rankings, sank back into his chair in disbelief. He'd seen someone with the nick of _Sai_. Thinking it was another fake, he'd challenged the idiot. He'd taken Black. He'd battled with all his skill to honour the Internet's strongest Go player, and he'd lost, in the face of the opponent's overwhelming skill that not only marked him as deserving of the name of _Sai_, but marked him as undoubtedly the passing ghost whose very move would leave you trembling...who had coined that descriptor he didn't know, but it seemed particularly apt for the name currently listed on the virtual _goban_:

_Sai, currently online._

**Korea...**

Ko Yeongha could only make a choking sound somewhere in his throat as the JPN player he'd thought to be weak completely dominated the board and swept him with it. It seemed like Shindo's play, he admitted to himself, so it could be Shindo, from the Japan team in the Hokuto Cup, but Yeongha was still pretty sure that Shindo did not possess the sheer weight of experience this _Sai_ did. _Sai_ had thrashed him pretty badly. Shindo had not. So although they were similar, their playing style was still completely different. This was skill comparable with one of the Saints of Go, Honinbo Shuusaku.

All of a sudden, Ko Yeongha wondered if the Go Saint Shuusaku had taken exception to that insult and came down to punish him for it.

**Japan...**

Ogata Seiji watched the computer screen intently, downing hot chocolate to ward off the October chill at night.

_So, Sai is here. I was right. And he's probably with Shindo, now that I think about it. Only Shindo could continue playing at this ungodly hour._

**Still in Japan...**

_Tap tap. _Brown eyes, occasionally shifting to an eerie topaz, watched intently a glowing square seated on a desk. The man sitting in front of the glowing square had long hair and wore glasses, the eyes hidden behind the wire-rimmed glasses intently watching the game of _Sai vs. KYH._

_Fushimi Sama, the bird has flown free...I hope. I have done as you have wished, integrated the child into this world to the best of my ability and introduced him into a more familiar setting to allow that talent to grow. Your orders, I have carried them out, and I have endeavoured to make known the child to the world and to that man, Touya Koyo. He is making good progress. This concludes my report._

Silently, the Kitsune thought, knowing that that entity would hear it. And if that entity had paid a bit more attention, he could just hear the undercurrents of a fox's true thoughts, said with a grin full of teeth:

_Good boy, Fujiwara.

* * *

_

Sai concluded the last game with a final click, ending with him winning by ten _moku_. Finally, he had managed to shake off a bit of the 'polish' gotten when playing with Fushimi Inari. He also felt exhilarated and some of the tiredness that had escaped him tonight. He was in a human body now, and two years later he was still trying to adapt somewhat to the finer things life offered.

_Tomorrow is the finals of the tournament, _he thought to himself. _I'd better turn in._ The cursor arrow thing hovered over the log-out phrase and he clicked it with a bit of manoeuvring, secretly thankful that his 'education' had included to some extent how to utilise a computer. With a couple of accidents, Sai had pretty much gotten a hold of how to use it. Somewhat; other things still escaped him, but simple things he could handle.

'My God,' he heard Waya's distinctive whisper behind him and jumped in his chair, turning around to see the redheaded 3-dan gaping at him. _Like a fish_, he thought, _how cute._

He would have smiled if Waya hadn't started babbling: 'You're really Sai. You're really him.'

Sai would have wondered how long it took for those words to be comprehended by Waya who was seemingly even more thick-skulled than Hikaru when the redhead added: 'Only Sai could have finished off four of the Net Go's strongest in one night.'

* * *

_**The game coordinates written here can be found on the Internet. I don't know who is the US and Dutch representative for the International Amateur Cup or something like it, so I made up a name. Hope its okay, and if I got anything wrong please point it out.**_

_**I figured Ko Yeongha as a lazier person, so his nick here is KYH, his initials. Was that in character? It also serves to show how vain he is, he puts up his initials as a nick. It was so sad that Shindo couldn't win. Well, Sai took revenge. Hahahahaha...*evil chibi grin***_

_**Please review!  
**_


	6. Chapter 6:The Playful Fox

_**Recently, I downloaded Ontogenesis's Desynchronization to read. Desynchronization is just that good, that it's been converted to e-book format. According to the website, it's being translated into Russian too. So Onto genesis has just managed to set a new high bar for us...sort of.**_

_**Enjoy.

* * *

**_

_**The Playful Fox**_

The Net Go community had never seen much action since its inception a few years ago. It was pretty much akin to a pond; seemingly calm on the surface, but teeming with life the moment you got a magnifying glass to study it, and even then, that life was relatively peaceful.

Tonight, it was buzzing, really buzzing, as Internet-savvy amateurs and pros alike grew more and more aware of an old story since the inception of Net Go coming back. The Net Go website, as part of its upgrades to stay ahead of younger players on the Net market, had introduced two lists; one a typical ranking list of Net Go's current strongest hundred players or so, the other a list of 'potential Sais', players that had so much potential that they could be Sai hiding under another nickname on the Internet. Of course, most of the people who actually made the list were actually pros that played in their free time, but this was not the main cause for the Go community's excitement tonight.

No, what had them all excited was that on the very top of the ranking list, where an honorary top place had been secured for _Sai _and _Touya Koyo,_ a certain icon was flashing green, besides a name that hadn't been online for almost two years, and a declaration was proudly written besides that very name:

_Sai, online.

* * *

_

_Hikaru, when can I play? That whining voice continued. _

_Not now, Sai. It's my game. _His mouth moved_._

_Hikaru, I want to play! When can I play? Hikaru..._

_Not now. _That refusal had been cast in stone.

_Hikaru, please...I don't know how long do I have left..._

_Sai, I want to play too...and besides, you said that you probably have all eternity to play, right? So, why don't you let the me with limited time to play?_

_Hikaru...I'm running out of time...please..._

_**Goodbye...**_

_Sai?Sai! Sai! Where are you? SAI!_

_There was no one there. Gone was the familiar figure clad in robes from a millennium past, shyly hiding his face from behind a folding fan of pure snow white as he laid stone after stone on the _goban_, gone were the amethyst eyes that would study the board and always, always, seek a path to victory, and more than often find it...Sai was no longer there._

_Where are you? Sai!_

There was that moment where Hikaru lurched between limbo and the real world and finally crashed down to earth, immediately awaking in cold sweat as cold rivulets trickled through his bangs and, from what he could tell, through his body, and somehow, on his face too. _Am I crying?_

'Hikaru!' Sai leapt at him, smothering him in a hug that would have seemed to Hikaru at any other time as life-threatening tight, but for now as warmly comforting.

'Shindo?' Waya seemed to have snapped out of a dream, only just registering that Hikaru was crying, and in the not so nice way. Waya wondered if most parents would feel like this when their child wakes up from a nightmare. _Yet another reason not to get married._

'Hikaru, you're fine, I'm here, there's nothing going on...'Hikaru managed to pull himself free from the Death Straitjacket Arm Wrap Sai had him in and soon got free, which meant that he physically injured Sai in order to get the ex-ghost to let go.

'I'll be fine, so...Sai, don't disappear again.' _Good, I'm not crying. To break down in tears in front of Waya? I'll never live it down. _

'I'm not going to fade, Hikaru. I'm not leaving...at least according to the higher power up there.' Sai whispered, out of earshot of Waya, who had just become distracted by whatever there was on the computer screen. _This is where I thank the gods that Waya's concentration always wanders,_ Hikaru thought, just as another thought made itself known: _Why is the computer on?_

'Sai...'

'Yes, Hikaru?'

'Why is the computer on?'

'Oh, I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to play some Go on the Internet,' came the innocent reply, unaware of the sudden danger he had placed himself.

'Using our nick?'

'Why, yes.'

'Sai, do you realise that once you log in, people are aware that you're online, and they'll realise that you're back?'

'Are we that famous, Hikaru?' that childlike innocence really should have been left back in the Heian era, where life was simpler somewhat.

'Well...if you consider being the urban legend of the online Go community as famous as much as that most amateurs seem to kiss the ground you walk on assuming if they could find it, then yeah.'

'It doesn't sound very nice, Hikaru.'

'It wasn't meant to, Sai.'

* * *

Kosemura scowled at the crappy assignment the editor had given him bright and early at seven in the morning. Covering the free-for-all tournament the Go Association was holding should have been meant for rookies, but unfortunately he was the only one in the _Go Weekly _office who seemed to count as a rookie. Like most at the office, he already knew that Akiyama Amateur 7-_dan_ was expected to win. Despite being a free-for-all, most amateurs didn't have the raw talent to compete internationally with a certain exception and even so that exception didn't count as it was a former quadruple title holder we were talking about. No one would expect any new talent to show itself here...he started the Internet browser programme to the Go Association website's page dedicated to the free-for-all.

His eyebrows rose as he considered the four semi-finalists. As expected, Akiyama was on the list with a good, if not outstanding record as expected, but there was another name on the list which intrigued Kosemura as being one with an even more impeccable record than Akiyama. Apparently, he had won all his game by forfeiture, and his games had apparently never reached _yose_. The man's name was Fujiwara Sai. Why does that name seem so familiar...?

Still about three hours to go; he wasn't expected to be there until about ten, which was where he expected Akiyama to be warming up for the finals to finish off the other finalist. So, Kosemura indulged in an old habit back when he'd still been a young brash Go journalist and logged into the Net Go website forums.

Immediately he almost fell over at the severe flood of posts that had invaded the tiny little forum list of the Net Go website. _Sai is back!_ one proclaimed. Intrigued, Kosemura quickly ran several searches on this Sai character and soon came up with a reliable dossier:

_In July 1999, a certain player made his debut on Net Go, revolutionising the tiny little Go community as it was quickly proved that this player was 'like Honinbo Shuusaku' according to one pro who declined to be named. Within two months, this player had beaten many of Net Go's strongest and even the world's strongest amateurs. In less than a month, many of the world's top amateurs held this player in high regard as the player continued to evolve, even beating a 3-dan pro soon later. _

_About a year later, this man played then four-title holder Touya Koyo and narrowly scraped a half-point victory, even against he who many consider as the man closest to the Hand of God. Rumours abound that this player, Sai's, victory against Touya ex-Meijin was the main reason that soon led to the quadruple title-holder's retirement from the pro world. However, soon after, Sai disappeared from the Net, never seen, never heard, but still remembered by pros and amateurs alike as the Ghost of Go._

Kosemura felt his eyebrows were about to jump off his face, but he didn't care. He'd remembered why he found that name familiar; after all, the name Sai wasn't a very common one. Add that this person was the so-called Internet's strongest, who even beat Touya Koyo...

_Could Sai be there?_

Kosemura jumped off his chair and grabbed his bag and car keys. To hell with rush hour; he'd even risk a car accident for this scoop.

* * *

Touya could not understand this turn of events. First, he'd woken up to Shindo apparently exhausted from torturing Sai. Then rather incongruously, that Sai wasn't wearing a top. Then he'd wondered why Shindo was acting so much like a puppy-dog, not even leaving Sai alone even when Sai was visiting the privy. In fact, Touya suspected that if possible, Shindo would follow the long-haired man into the privy if Waya hadn't accosted the young 3-dan and demanded answers concerning Sai.

Waya was equally, if not more, eager to follow Sai anywhere, such that even Mrs Shindo tried not to laugh as Waya did a passable imitation of a leech. Touya, on the other hand, had to tap into vast reserves of willpower with added praying, swearing and effort in order not to thrash the two of them right there and then and ask why the hell they were acting like that around Sai.

Then Sai had dropped the bombshell about the free-for-all, and Akira's eyes had glazed over, remembering that today, the semi-finals and finals for the free-for-all gimmick was held in Kiin Hall. Shindo had insisted on following Sai there, seeing as he had a day off today, and Akira had volunteered to watch the two of them for Mrs Shindo after she had expressed concerns over the two of them for their behaviour in public [after the debacle in which Shindo became the first pro ever to dress up in funeral black on the day he was awarded his 2-dan certificate. For the confused, it was on May fifth that he was awarded the certificate. _Go weekly _had a field day with that, it had its very own feature. After all, it wasn't often one of the most childish-by-own-admission pros dressed up in the full ensemble and proceeded to collected the certificate like it was a death certificate instead of a 2-dan certificate].

Now, he was wedged in the back seat of a taxi, praying that today's rush hour wasn't as bad without much hope, and fervently hoping Shindo would break off that irritating stream of questions. If Touya heard another 'Are we there yet...?' he wasn't sure what was he going to do, but it sure wouldn't be nice for Shindo. At least Waya wasn't here, having left for his game; Akira didn't think he could stand two hyperactive Go pros almost yelling the irritating question.

At last they got there, Akira thought as he unceremoniously pushed Shindo out of the taxi and extricated himself as Shindo paid the fare, wondering how Sai could have stepped out of the confines of the taxi without so much as mussed hair as he followed Sai into the hall. Once in, he was immediately taken aside by one of the Go Association's officials.

'Not much action today,' the official had commented. 'I bet Akiyama will grab the trophy this year. Still this was a good gimmick, don't you think, Touya Sensei? Makes the amateurs think they have a chance to represent Japan internationally, just win the free-for-all.'

'It is a very good publicity stunt,' Akira admitted, 'but I don't think Akiyama's monopoly is going to last.'

He was proud he managed to keep a straight face as he made his way towards the stage to begin his job as emcee.

* * *

_Akiyama's game is good, and both are solid players, but Akiyama is surely the stronger, _Akira thought as the first game ended with Akiyama winning by one _moku_. _Then now the other round begins._

Beside him, Shindo had fallen silent, absorbed in the game as Sai made the first move. Almost feeling like a sports commentator, Akira wondered what his father would say as his mouth moved, spouting out game analysis, comment and the occasional ejaculation of sheer wonder as Sai played. Both pros weren't fools, they knew Sai was playing Shidougo with White, apparently having realised that White's strength was nowhere near his.

Of course, Sai had won by three and a half large _moku_. Akira wasn't surprised that Sai had managed that even by Shidougo; nothing less could be expected from Touya Koyo's rival.

As he walked down the stage to record the result and possibly the game _kifu_ if he had time, he spied the _Go Weekly _reporter Kosemura heading towards him.

'_Ohaiyogazaimasu, _Touya Sensei,' Kosemura began to probe, 'I'm here today to cover the event. Are there any hopefuls to break Akiyama Amateur 7-dan's monopoly?'

'Fujiwara Sai might be able to succeed,' Akira replied promptly. 'I think Akiyama should be very, very prepared.'

'Really? Oh yes, Touya Sensei, have you ever heard about the Go player Sai?'

Underneath that question, Akira could sense the paparazzi sniffing. 'Yes, I have played against Sai before. Sadly, I was not at such a high level of skill when I faced him, and even if I had advanced in level, I have no doubt that Sai have evolved as well.' _Because I saw his progress for myself, I can completely believe that. That man is an absolute monster on the _goban.

'Oh? Touya Sensei, do you think Sai is here?'

'Of course,' Akira replied, feigning surprise. 'He's right behind you. Oh, the finals are beginning.' He smiled a bit as he walked up to the stage again. Whoever ever said that Touya Akira didn't have a sense of humour didn't know Touya Akira.

* * *

Yes, Sai was right behind Kosemura, but was otherwise hidden from notice by the sheer virtue of his wearing his hair in a loose ponytail and by the fact that Hikaru had rushed off to the toilet, thus relieving Sai of a noisy, attention-seeking but otherwise comforting companion as he went to finish the tournament. He needed a 'cellphone' as Chiaki San had said, and he'd rather not take up Chiaki's offer to introduce him to some _business _in order to help pay for the cellphone after Chiaki's subsidy, this last word being purred so creepily that Sai really didn't want to know, even if his conscience was somehow weighed by the fact that he was playing this match for the money. Then Chiaki's face loomed in his mind about _business_ and _jobs_ that did not bode well for him.

In _nigiri_, he won black, which set his spirits immediately soaring. _I have never lost when playing Black._

Akiyama was the consistent winner of the major amateur tournaments in Japan, and had been ranked among the top five amateurs on the Net Go website. Even so, he had not really heard of Sai until that fateful time two years ago during the International Amateur Tournament. One _Insei_ had mentioned the name and soon all of the world's strongest amateurs had started discussing Sai. Even Lee Lishin, number one among the amateurs, had admitted in being thrashed by Sai after he had supposedly posted on a forum that Japan was weakening.

Now, he wondered if this Sai was the exact same Sai that had achieved legendary status on Net Go overnight.

_Pachi_. He knew, already, that the difference in strength was too high.

'_Makemashita.'

* * *

_

Sai wondered why this Akiyama had insisted on surrender just before midgame. There were still so many possibilities, so many moves to play...and now he can't ever play them.

'Why did you stop? There are still possibilities for White to win.'

'Against your assault, I don't think White has a chance,' Akiyama shrugged. 'I'd like to think that I'm a strong player, but it's perfectly because I'm strong that I can recognise our difference in skill. So, I've lost, rather than continue with a game I cannot win in vain.'

'It was still a good game, Akiyama San,' Sai acknowledged as the pair stood up and bowed to each other as equals. 'I hope to have a chance to play a game with you again.'

'The feeling is mutual,' Akiyama replied wholeheartedly as he descended the stage with Sai.

Immediately, one overeager Go pro with bleached bangs turned up. Silently, Sai wondered exactly where was Hikaru when he was playing; was he stil in the privy, or was he among the audience, watching the game intently? Sai's heart swelled with some pride as Hikaru rambled on about how he'd won the game. Even if he'd have to admonish his student for using such uncouth language of the type Sai had never used, but personally felt that they were a bit insulting and therefore would occasionally wonder about the etymology of such slang spewing out of Hikaru's mouth.

As he turned to the judges' table to ask when could he receive his prize, a hand laid itself on his shoulder. Even through the thicker shirt Sai had worn to get through the October morning chill, he could feel the metaphorical claws upon that hand.

'Boo.'

* * *

To say that Sai's reaction had been quite overkill would have not been an exaggeration. He jumped as if a ghost had sneaked up on him. In a way, one had.

'Looks like I was late,' Chiaki commented as he removed his hand from Sai's immediate area. 'It's just that it was so refreshing to sneak up and scare someone for a change. Sai, what is your...protege trying to do?'

As usual, Sai was attempting to bodily restrain Hikaru from doing something stupid. 'Oh yes, Chiaki San, this is my student, Shindo Hikaru. Hikaru, this is Chiaki San, my...'

'Babysitter. Overall re-educator of your adult life. Font-of-all-knowledge concerning the modern world. Better yet, caretaker.' Chiaki quipped, slowly studying Hikaru.

Hikaru shivered a bit as those brown eyes seemed to momentarily turn topaz and flicker back. It felt...much like he was being assessed as food. Who this Chiaki person was he didn't know, but it seemed like Chiaki had taken care of Sai for about two years, along with another friend...but why would he have done so in the firs place?

'Sai, what connection does Chiaki San hav...' The rest of his words were swallowed as Chiaki clapped a hand over his big mouth.

'O, would you look at the time! Let's grab a bite to eat!' Chiaki brightly continued to talk as he dragged an irate Hikaru and an obediently following Sai out of Kiin Hall after collecting the prize.

When Touya Akira found out that not only had the winner skipped out immediately with the money, but had not stuck around to actually collect the certificate that rendered Sai eligible to enter the coming December's International Amateur Tournament, he wondered if people about to swear a blue streak often felt like this, angry and upset and just a tad annoyed.

* * *

_**I remember that in the anime there was a certain hall where a children's tournament was held. It was called Kiin Hall. I decided to use it as I didn't have a good enough idea of Tokyo's geography.**_

_****__Please review!_  



	7. Chapter 7:The Disturbing Fox

_**As usual, I do not own Hikaru no Go. This fanfic is registered under the Creative Commons as non-commercial, non-profit work. I will most definitely have to take this down if the author requests it, or even knew about it. Honestly, I don't think she does, and we're all happy to keep it that way. People who break the status quo beware.**_

_**Enjoy.

* * *

**_

_**The Disturbing Fox**_

'Sai, how is Chiaki San connected to you?' Hikaru asked through a mouthful of burger. Atypical of Shindo, he'd chosen WcDonald's. Sai silently cursed his student's bad taste in food.

Sai chose not to answer that question yet, instead wondering how he was going to have to answer that question. Somehow he doubted that Hikaru would readily accept _Oh, the gods up above were deciding my sentence, and then Fushimi Inari Sama came along and took me under his protection, so now I'm given a physical body and time to pursue the Divine Move and apparently the gods readily accepted this verdict as they didn't know where to put me, so while I was in Kyoto relearning everything about life Chiaki was responsible for my complete re-education for the past two years. _Even Sai had limits to how much one could believe. Hikaru might have accepted that he could be a ghost, and thus he _could_ have believed that Sai had been spared by the gods and allowed back, but precedent suggests that they would still part ways someday.

_And when that day comes, who would leave first? I don't know how much time I have left, or how long Fushimi Sama's promise would hold. Hikaru, some things are better not known. Can I tell you...?_

'I was told to look after Fujiwara San by someone I respect.' Chiaki answered. 'So I'm right here to look after him. Honestly, I don't think much of your protégée, Fujiwara. I assume it's the first impression he gives. Shindo Kun, I very much appreciate your accompanying your teacher here.' Chiaki told him, still studying Hikaru intently.

Hikaru glared back at him. 'Sai, who is this person?'

'Hikaru, didn't I already tell you?' Sai gasped at him. 'Chiaki San is a friend.'

'Sai, let's be more specific; _what_ is this person?' Hikaru shot back.

The look on Sai's face was one of pure horror. 'Hikaru...'

'Sai, I don't know how you got a body, or even how the _heck_ you managed to get here , but I know that not everybody is so trusting to take in a stranger. If Chiaki San was so kind as to take you in, either he knows who you are, which would mean he's psychic or something, or he's incredibly trusting to the point of idiocy, which doesn't look it. Also, he does the creepy eye thing and he looks at me like...like...like I'm a steak or something.' Hikaru broke off with a slight shiver. 'If I didn't know better I'd say he's like you, older than most people but don't look it.'

'He's good,' Chiaki told Sai. 'Apparently he has brains under that bleached head of his. Very good, this one. You've taught him well enough to use his brains.'

'Chiaki San, Hikaru has almost always managed to bluff his way through situations like this,' Sai replied. 'He has also allowed me to play Go and even kept my existence quiet as I played. I believe we can tell him why I could come back.'

'What's going on, Sai?' Hikaru asked, almost childishly confused.

'Well, let's see...the short of it is that Sai was originally going to be reincarnated, but considering that he's one of the few that managed to advance so close to the Divine Move, he was somewhat spared and er...placed on probation.' Chiaki cheerfully pronounced the very serious sentence hanging on Sai as if it was a joke. 'Now, your precious _sensei_ is stuck on this earth until either he achieves the Hand of God, or any other option which are so horrible that ascension is pretty much the only option. Sai absolutely _cannot_ die during this time or he won't get any more chances.'

'You mean...' Hikaru was almost horrified.

'He'll fade. His soul will be broken into tiny little bits and scattered to the four winds. Reincarnation was already lost to him, now if he goes, he's gone. No more Sai of the Fujiwara. Gone from history, gone from existence, just...gone. Forever. You'll never see him again. '

* * *

Up till now Sai had never considered that Hikaru could be annoying. Noisy, maybe; occasionally borderline irritating, but not deliberately annoying. Today he wondered if perhaps he should revise his opinion of his student.

'Hikaru, I'm not going anywhere, so please stop circling me. I definitely do not remember becoming something for you to orbit around,' Sai patiently explained as he lugged one extremely heavy bag along the street they were walking.

He'd wanted that bright purple phone, as Chiaki had called it, although honestly it was quite a lot smaller than the phone he had imagined but both Hikaru and Chiaki had rejected the phone on the grounds that it was too blinding a colour. Chiaki had wanted Sai to get the black phone, but Hikaru had retorted that it was too monochrome and therefore too boring, and that the canary yellow option was better. Sai had baulked at that particularly horrible thing, and even the salesperson manning the counter had been slightly offended by the bright contraption. In the end, Sai had chosen white, the only colour scheme that had not offended anyone's colour taste, one that Sai thought was rather good-looking personally, and even Hikaru had admitted that the white suited Sai.

Plus, the phone came equipped with GPS. Just in case.

Of course, this was the cue for Hikaru's phone to ring, and for Hikaru to pick it up, and then the whole store had heard the typical verbal exchange between Touya Akira 5-_dan_ and Shindo Hikaru 3-_dan_ as the two young Go pros yelled at each other through a miracle of modern communication technology, the hand-phone. Of course, Sai immediately felt guilty for leaving 'poor Akira' at the hall without a word but then Hikaru had dragged Sai off to explore an old shop selling Go implements that Hikaru had recently found. Immediately, Sai's Go addiction managed to drive guilt from his head.

Of course, Sai ended up buying the most books. Even as a child, he'd always adored books. In this time, the him from the Heian era felt more at home with paper and ink than with steel and aluminium and silicon. Of course, technology was nice, but he still like books and paper. Paper didn't make odd noises and die horribly fizzling deaths if you accidentally dropped it into the flooded sink, he'd learned the hard way. Fushimi had been laughing about that incident for a whole day straight.

'Ne, Hikaru, wait for me...' Sai watched the little glowing man turn dark, and the red hand appeared, almost like saying, _You shall not pass _as Hikaru skipped further ahead.

'Well, who told you to be so slow...?' Sai dimly heard the reply over the screeching of rubber on asphalt.

That was when the pain started.

_Ow...why are my books over there? How did I end up here? What the...? _

_Ow...I don't want to die...help me..._

_Hikaru...

* * *

_

'Shindo, call an ambulance,' Chiaki ordered, having now glanced at the car plates. Cursing at luck for this accident, the fox made his way to the collapsed Sai, the long-haired Go prodigy having almost been run over by a bright red Mazda. A very familiar bright red Mazda. Luckily it had been clocking about twenty or thirty kilometres per hour, or Sai would have been turned into something bloodier.

Chiaki approached Sai and expertly checked the trapped left leg, the Go prodigy whimpering and moaning in pain. No blood, but that didn't discount internal haemorrhage or broken bones, for that matter.

Looking up before applying CPR, Chiaki saw that student of Sai, Shindo, with a cellphone to his ear, speaking quickly and intently into the receiver, all the while intently glaring intently at the driver. Chiaki had better vision than most, and he could clearly see two warring sparks of emotions in the boy's green eyes, now turned into something cold in the reflections of the broken windscreen.

Recognition, mixed with cold, raw fury.

Ogata Seiji got up from where he'd collapsed behind the seat. Who the hell was standing in front of a bloody car in the middle of the road? And in Tokyo, too. People had better sense not to commit suicide by road intersection these days. They all wanted to die in their own homes or jump off a high-rise building or something like that now. No point in pulling down some innocent person on so-called murder charges or into the depths of guilt.

He did a perfunctory search on himself. He didn't have any parts in pain. He wasn't bleeding. He had a pulse. He didn't have any obvious wounds. And that was the entire length and breadth of his medical knowledge. At least he was alive and uninjured; that had to count for something.

Pushing open the door, he clambered out to check which person he'd almost run over. Almost; he could clearly see the victim sitting up when he felt a hostile stare slowly stroke across his skin. Ogata _Juudan_ was an experienced player, one who knew the effect the eyes of another on the psyche. He had faced stares like this before, only...this one was so much more hostile, so much more angry. Turning, he could look straight into the burning emerald eyes of Shindo Hikaru. He'd never really seen Shindo angry before; he wasn't keen to repeat the experience.

However, that wasn't the painful blow that took his breath away, stuck a metaphorical knife into his guts and figuratively twisted the knife. It was the sight of the victim he'd almost run over; the long hair, that facial profile, those features, though twisted in pain...

Ogata's heart almost had a coronary there and then. Truthfully, Ogata would have welcomed it if just to repay what he'd just done.

_Oh gods, I've almost run over Sai.

* * *

_

Akira had just about had enough of Kosemura's bugging him when his phone rang, temporarily stemming the flow of questions from the _Go Weekly _journalist as Akira answered the phone. Barely had he asked: _'Moshi_ _moshi?' _when he had to move the headset away from his ear as a torrent of words came gushing out of it at the top of Shindo's voice, barely discernible save for: '...Sai...accident...hospital...'

Truthfully, Akira would have liked to think that he handled the situation calmly and efficiently, but he just told Shindo: 'Say that again, slower, and with less volume, Shindo.' He wasn't dumb enough to convince himself that he wasn't panicking.

After which, he'd proceeded to extract all details from Shindo and get the name and address of the hospital at which Sai had been sent. It was only after he hung up that Akira noticed that his palms were sweating and his hands were shaking so much that he'd almost dropped the phone. _What would happen if Sai died...?_

Akira didn't want to know that the rival his father had been travelling the world to search for was dead. He didn't want to be at the funeral of _Sai_, he didn't want the Ghost of Net Go to become a literal ghost, not now, not just when he was about to enter the pro world...there were so many games yet to be played, so many moves not yet made...especially the Divine Move.

Yelling for a taxi, Akira flagged one down, slammed the door shut, and told the driver to get to the central hospital quickly. It was only after the driver had almost broke the Formula One record for fastest head start that Akira recognised the driver as one of Shindo's older students. Then he wondered why was he thinking about this when Sai had been run down. Ah, well.

* * *

Ogata silently cursed himself for not wearing an earpiece in the car. He had been manually hanging up on a call on his cellphone when the accident happened. Of course, though it was technically _Sai's _fault for standing in the middle of the road when the light was green, Ogata supposed he should share the blame as well. Not to mention that he had almost run over Sai, a crime which would have had the Go world screaming for his extremely agonizing, slow and bloody execution if word got out. Of course, nobody died, but still...if looks could kill Ogata supposed he would be dead and bleeding from Shindo's numerous glares in his general direction.

Hikaru was still shooting daggers at Ogata when Chiaki came out to the waiting area. 'Good news, he'll live, and he can keep that leg, but Fujiwara will be stuck with a cast for about a month and will have to use crutches. Unlucky man; run down on his second day in Tokyo. Of course, the hospital wants to keep him for overnight observation, so Shindo, do you want to stay here tonight or should I...?'

'It's fine, I'll stay with him.' Hikaru quickly answered.

'Okay then. Say, I take it that the driver is paying Sai's bills?' Chiaki inquired, eyes flicking to Ogata and back to those burning emerald eyes.

'Like hell; I'll pay for him,' Hikaru snarled fiercely.

'You're a minor, you don't count. I can pay for Sai, but frankly my day job doesn't pay that much in one shot. I don't think Sai is going to consider press charges as well, seeing as he's really big on forgiving people. It also seems better to demand compensation for the hurt inflicted.' Chiaki emphasised the _hurt_ and was somewhat morbidly pleased to see Ogata shift uncomfortably on the plastic hospital chair.

'Shindo!' Turning around, Hikaru saw a panting Akira dashing at full speed towards him. 'How's Sai?' Slowly recovering, Akira finally noticed Ogata there. 'Ogata San? Why is he here?'

Just then, a yell of terror could be heard down the hallway form where Akira dashed past earlier.

'You can ask him,' Hikaru flatly replied as he walked to see Sai, leaving Akira in his dust.

'You know, O Kaa San always said that you would run down someone someday if you didn't use an earpiece,' Akira told the older Go pro after hearing the entire story. 'I think we should be lucky Sai didn't die.'

'I'll never forget the stupid earpiece if it's the last time I do,' Ogata sighed miserably. 'I don't think even committing _seppuku_ would atone for this crime.'

'Maybe we should just check on Sai now,' Akira desperately suggested.

'If you say so then.'

Akira was a bit worried at those words; Ogata wasn't a suggestible person at heart. _He must have felt really guilty_.

Akira's suspicions was confirmed when he walked into the ward later. It was not a private one, being one with six beds per room, but at least Sai's bed was tucked into the room's shadows and thus afforded a bit more privacy than most. Still, Akira could hear Hikaru's voice: '...stay in bed, Sai, you just survived your first traffic accident.' Ogata visibly winced.

'Just the thing then,' Chiaki's voice chimed in as a yelp, a thud and Sai's 'Huh?' sounded from behind the curtain. 'Shindo, you can boot up the Net Go website and occupy Sai's time with the laptop. I've also got a foldaway _goban _inside the bag and a change of clothes plus toiletries for Sai. I have things to do tomorrow, so you keep him company. If he's in pain, give him a painkiller, two or three every three hours. No more than that, okay? Shindo, I need to get to Kyoto for now, there's someone else coming to babysit Fujiwara. Don't worry if a stranger walks into the room; I think Fujiwara would recognise him. Yes, Fujiwara, you still need a babysitter. Oh don't worry, he's about _your_ age. Yes, _that_ age.' Akira had no idea what he was talking about.

'You sound like my mum,' Hikaru grumbled, muffled, Akira supposed, by the 'bag' Chiaki had thrown at him. 'Almost always nagging.'

'In some ways, Sai is like a young child, and I'm supposed to care for this child in an adult's body, so excuse me if I do sound like a mother hen,' Chiaki's reply shot back.

'Hey!' Akira heard Sai's outrage as the curtains were drawn back to reveal the three characters behind it. Chiaki was pulling the curtain back to its normal recess. Hikaru was just barely visible by his bleached bangs behind the bag Chiaki had thrown at him. And Sai...

Suffice it to say that Sai had never looked more in pain. His left leg was in a cast and suspended above the bed. Sai himself was pale and his face drawn, clearly still in pain despite the best efforts of the hospital's Accident and Emergency section. Akira sympathised with Sai for a bit.

'Oh, Akira,' Sai sounded surprised. 'When did you get here? And who is that person behind you?'

'Er..yes. Sai San, this is Ogata San, a student of my father's and the one who accidentally ran you over,' Akira sounded rushed. 'Ogata San, this is Fujiwara Sai San, who is apparently Shindo's mysterious _sensei_ who taught him how to play Go.'

'I know. We briefly met in the Touya Go salon the day before.' Ogata replied. 'I sincerely apologise for having almost run you over.'

'Oh, it's fine, it was my fault for not moving out of the way fast enough.' Sai gently replied. 'Hikaru, I don't think the painkillers are working. You said they were supposed to stop the pain, but why isn't it stopping?' the last bit was almost a whine, as Sai reached over, waving desperately at Hikaru for lying to him about painkillers killing pain.

Ogata would have been amused if his guilt hadn't outweighed his amusement. 'Perhaps you need a distraction.'

'Distraction?' Sai's eyebrows had coyly risen, as those amethyst pupils slowly tracked to the bag and then to Ogata's eyes. At that moment, Ogata _Juudan_ would swear that that look in Sai's eyes was disturbing beyond reason.

He knew that look was disturbing beyond reason on perfectly good grounds, Ogata had known, as he continued to duke it out with Sai on the _goban, _Shindo reluctantly placing the stones to coordinates dictated by Sai. Mid-game was nearly over and Ogata had not wasted several years as a Go pro to recognise that he wouldn't be able to get enough points by _yose_ to make up for the difference in _moku_. This was _Sai _indeed; Sai had already forgotten the pain in his leg, so absorbed in the game was he.

As Ogata placed the last move on the _goban_, fully aware that White had still maintained a lead of five and a half moku throughout a game _without_ _Komi,_ Sai sank back into the big pillow behind his head, sighing in a certain sort of satisfaction as the game concluded. 'Thank you for the game.'

'Thank you for the game, Ogata _sensei_. It was wonderful...' Sai trailed off for a bit. 'It's slightly different from the last time we played. More aggressive, not at all like you. Normally you would consider to riddle the field with traps instead of fighting it straight out like you did.'

'I was merely covering all the angles,' Ogata smoothly lied, fully aware that what Sai had detected was really reserved only for Sai and Sai alone. Having studied the preciously few _kifu_ of Sai's games he managed to derive from online archives that actually could be played by _Sai_ [a few years ago, he wouldn't have believed the number of amateurs who got a kick out of forging a Sai _kifu_], he had developed a ready strategy for _Sai_. Unexpectedly, he had been trying it out in their last game and it had backfired with predictable results. So he had gone back to the drawing board, with the results of that now on the _goban_. Back to planning again, then.

He was about to request another game, and probably would have succeeded if the nurse hadn't appeared and insisted that visiting hours were over, and Ogata had to leave, since Fujiwara San needed to rest, and a oblique mutter from Hikaru about being run over managed to shut Ogata up long enough for the nurse to throw him out of the ward. Once the door had closed, Hikaru had closed the curtain around the bed and sank into the chair behind the bed sighing. 'I can't believe you can still forgive that guy,' he moaned to Sai.

'It was after all, partly my fault to have been standing in the middle of the road,' Sai acknowledged. 'Furthermore, forgiveness is typically easier than hating him. I have not died, after all.'

'You almost died,' Hikaru grumbled. 'The doctors were all going over how lucky you were that you weren't hit in the ribs.'

'I'm right here, Hikaru,' Sai replied petulantly. 'I'm not going anywhere yet. Hikaru.'

'Yes?'

'Perhaps it is time we actually sat down and talked.'

* * *

'Okay, so the only reason you couldn't find me for the past two years was that you were first in heaven attempting to reincarnate,' Hikaru was muttering to himself, as if the facts would be accepted by his brain if he talked about it long enough. 'Then, a higher power of some sort put you through what I think passes for several boring months of reviewing your life over and over again. Then you had to undergo judgement, but the judges couldn't decide how to judge you. Then this Fushimi Sama came and took you in, and you were stuck with two foxes in Kyoto and couldn't find a telephone in sight.'

'Thank you, Hikaru; you do have such a gift for summarizing.' Sai replied in a weak attempt at sarcasm.

Hikaru ignored him. 'So how does Chiaki San fit into all this?'

'He...assists Fushimi. I think he's like me, too.' Sai admitted, realising that he did not know much about his friend.

'What, Chiaki San's a Go-obsessed ex-ghost too?'

'No! He's...something like a spirit, but unlike a ghost you can see him, you can talk to him, he can affect the physical world...but he doesn't feel normal.' Sai decided on this piecemeal explanation. 'It's like...he's not part of this world.'

'Maybe he's a _kitsune?' _Hikaru asked hopefully. 'Oh boy, there's really _youkai_ in this world...'

'Maybe...' Sai replied softly, wondering about Chiaki, the man who seemingly did not fit into the human world...

* * *

_**A Kitsune is the Japanese fox spirit. They are noted for not only being extremely mischievous, but also unreasonable. They are the most famous among the youkai.**_

_**Youkai is the Japanese word for a demon/apparition/spirit/supernatural things. The term itself is an umbrella term in Japan consisting of mostly anything supernatural, not that I think about it.**_

_**Read and review!**_

_**Actually, I'm considering if Sai should meet someone he recognises from his Heian days and who could possibly help him get on with life...and who better to do so than the Heian era's most famous person linked with the supernatural, Abe no Seimei? Tell me what you think in the reviews. **_

_**Thanks.**_


	8. Chapter 8:The Floating Fox

_**Hmm...it's October in this story line, so Sai will be crippled for about two weeks, and the IAC I put him in is in December so...when in doubt, apply the fast-forward! *Sai does chibi dance*

* * *

**_

_**The Floating Fox**_

At the Tokyo _Tokaido_ _Shinkaisen_ station, Chiaki sneezed as the October cold got to him, mentally cursing the _other_ who was supposed to come today. Why of all people that one Chiaki knew, but that still did not stop the feelings of irritation. Although technically irritation was supposed to be foreign to him, the mere thought of that person would have sent him into a temper. Well, he supposed, there are some people who would rub the wrong way no matter how much you try, he supposed.

'You know, standing out in the October chill in such thin clothing is a sure guarantee for catching a cold,' a quiet, reedy voice simpered next to Chiaki.

Chiaki could already picture the guy. Black hair, black eyes, with that sort of young fox-like features that made everyone distrust him a little bit, with a know-it-all expression that made them dislike him slightly, as was his heritage from his mother's side. _They say he has his mother's eyes..._ Chiaki had often wondered at Ogata _Juudan's _dislike of Kuwabara _Honinbo_ as why someone could hate another person so much, and then had proceeded to compare it with his relationship with this person. Frankly, he could see the parallels. 'I wouldn't be standing out here in the first place if there weren't new developments,' he grated. 'Fujiwara is injured. You know which hospital. They discharge him tomorrow morning. I think you probably know what to do from there, _Sempai.'_

'You are a very obnoxious one, Kuroki.'

'The feeling is mutual, Abe.'

'See, after all the times you call me _Sempai,_ Abe, you never use my given name,' the other man pouted, almost endearing to any other person. Unfortunately, Chiaki wasn't any other person.

'Goodbye, _Sempai_,' Chiaki finally sighed as he picked up his bag and headed towards the Shinkaisen, leaving a certain Abe no Seimei behind...

'Oh, so that kid is really here,' Seimei whispered. 'Will I be correct, or wrong this time?'

* * *

'Sai! Not again!' Hikaru cried from frustration as he lost the game in a blazing defeat from Sai again.

'Hikaru, another game, another game!' Sai squealed happily as he grabbed handful of stones to return to the _goke. _

'No, I have to sleep and I have a game tomorrow.' Hikaru insisted firmly as he cleaned up the rest of the stones from the board. 'Shouldn't you sleep too?'

_'Date,_ I don't want to...'

Hikaru was reminded exactly why Chiaki kept referring to Sai as a little kid; it was simply not normal for a grown man to act like that. Well, it was _Sai_, so maybe he just never really noticed it till now...

'Then play Net Go.'

Sai froze as if that idea hadn't even been considered by him yet. 'Good idea...'

Hikaru sighed as he curled up into the chair, watching Sai fiddle with the laptop with the same cautious reverence one gave to explosives, until he was at the Net Go website. Watching that face come alight like a child's when presented with a gift, Hikaru almost smiled indulgently at Sai before he drifted off to sleep.

The Net Go website still had a few hardcore Japanese amateurs online, not to mention several other people in different time zones too. When Sai came online, a furore went up at challenges were issued left and right to _Sai, _the king who had deigned to appear in his kingdom for now.

Many waited with bated breath as the Ghost stood pending his choice, hopeful to be the next to play with the legendary _Sai_. Pros and amateurs alike worldwide flocked to see the next choice, the next one to either win against the Ghost of Net Go, or to join the many _Sai_ had cut down on his prowl through the internet.

Finally the choice was made, some players disappointed, some elated, as the chosen was faced with the virtual _goban_, taking Black as the other chose White.

Nervous and excited at facing such a legend, the mouse clicked, and this could just be a figment of the imagination, as everyone imagined the sound of the first move White would make:

_Pachi._

**17-4.

* * *

**

'O Tou San,' Akira politely said as he closed the _Shoji_ screen that led to Touya Koyo's Go study. The room was austere to the point of containing only a pair of heavy bookshelves against the wall, cushions for visitors to sit on and, dominating the centre of the room, was a single fine _goban, _the thick legs having worn a groove into the tatami flooring to show the passing of years since its placement there. In the middle of the _goban_ was placed a single Go stone of black slate, in its usual place. Even after two years of travelling the years, it seemed that Touya Koyo had not lost hope of one day meeting that rival one day. It was just as well that his hope had paid off.

Touya Koyo inclined his head to acknowledge his son, the old eyes like black slate still staring at the _goban_, no doubt in open challenge to Sai. Koyo's efforts had been wasted again during a recent trip to China, where he had participated and then proceeded to challenge everyone there until he had confirmed that no one present was _Sai._ Akira personally didn't mind his parents going travelling; after all, Touya Akiko had deserved a holiday after fifteen years between raising him and looking after the ex-Meijin. The pair had got on in life and thus should enjoy it while they still could.

'Today Ogata San was involved in an accident,' Akira stated as way of beginning the conversation.

'Oh? Was he driving?' the gravelly tones replied.

'Unfortunately, yes. I believe he accidentally ran over a pedestrian's leg. The other person is now in hospital and has chosen not to press charges. Shindo was quite angry; the man is apparently one of his friends, and you know how Shindo is like with his friends.'

'I hope he is fine.' The mechanical reply came.

'He is, but the hospital is keeping the other man for overnight observation. Ogata San is quite upset, racked with guilt, even.'

That got Koyo's attention; anything that could cause Ogata Seiji to feel unhappiness and guilt instead of frustration towards the other party must be very important or concerning a subject very, very close to Ogata's heart. There were not many of them, the principal being Go, Go and more Go. With, quite possibly, a sideline in the occasional chain-smoke. 'This friend of Shindo's, have you met him?'

Akira frowned at this point. 'Yes. Apparently, Shindo and his friend are long-time friends who have not seen each other for a while. I first met him at the Go Association's free-for-all tournament. Today he won Akiyama Amateur 7-dan and is expected to challenge Shimano San for the International Amateur Cup in five days.'

'How unlucky, being run down just after winning the game,' Koyo murmured. 'Who is this friend of Shindo's? He must be very strong in Go to have won Akiyama.' Strong for an amateur, yes, but generally not comparable to a pro. Of course, that was with certain exceptions, but even the strongest amateur would only be about the strength of a professional 1_-dan._

'Yes, O Tou Sama. This friend is strong, strong enough that his name is known throughout the Go world.' Akira replied.

Touya Koyo frowned at that. Shindo was very outstanding in his own right, so obviously he would have equally outstanding friends, but he didn't think that most of them had really achieved international fame yet, not even his own son...his heart began to beat faster. _What_ _if_...?

'This friend,' he breathed. 'Is it the one I had played?'

'Yes, O Tou Sama.' Akira almost wondered if it was a good choice to tell Touya Senior about Sai. After all, he reasoned, it just wasn't right not to tell the man that his rival was in town, right?

'He is here?'

'Tokyo Central Hospital. I don't know his more permanent address.'

'I see. How is...this friend of Shindo?'

Ah. Akira could see that his father didn't want to speak the name out of fear that Sai would fade into oblivion again. 'A broken leg, but he should be able to play. When I left the hospital, he was playing around with Ogata San. From Ogata San's reaction, he probably won.'

'I am glad to hear this,' Touya Koyo simply stated.

Being a man of few words as well, Akira could read the elation in every cadence of his father's voice. Touya Koyo and his rival had crossed paths yet again. The Go world had better watch out for this soon-to-come epic that would sweep in the new wave.

* * *

Scowling at the keyboard, Sai now attempted to figure out how to communicate with his opponent. Although knowing that privacy was the preferred mode among net players, Sai really wanted to participate in the post-game discussion. Having acquired a very basic understanding in English such that he could match...possibly elementary school level, and at least enough to understand simple words and basic grammar rules, he itched to try out his knowledge for once.

He smiled at the words that he had crafted on the screen, stark black a contrast against the white background:

**Thank you for the game.**

Still smiling slightly, he manoeuvred the arrow-thingy over to the 'send' button and clicked.

**Somewhere in Japan...**

Yang Hai sank back into his chair, exhausted but satisfied at his luck for having found his request for a game amid several requests, then very contented for having played a game at such a level, even though he had lost. It would serve as good research material for the computer programme he was writing. He was about to send another request, not bothering with the chat function; _Sai _was notorious for not speaking on the Net, although there was a certain exception known as _zelda,_ or what Yang Hai preferred to call the oversized Le Ping.

Needless to say, he was surprised when the very words appeared on the screen:

**Thank you for the game.**

Yang Hai almost fell over his chair. For once in a few years, _Sai _had finally broken radio silence. Quickly, he typed the reply.

_OldasSea_**: Thank U. **

No, he needed something else to extend their conversation. Something...

**Thanks 2. U played several great games, why didn't u talk 2 anyone else, just me?**

He waited with bated breath. Would _Sai_ get offended and leave? Or would he stay and continue?

**Just learn english, don't know how.**

**Then wat 'bout zelda?**

Yang Hai grew increasingly worried about _Sai's_ mood as the minutes passed. That was definitely very confrontational; _Sai_ was going to be offended.

**Interpreter, **_Sai_ replied.

Yang Hai sighed; of course. _Sai_ claimed that he had just learned the language; so previously there must have been someone else that typed the 'I'm strong, ain't I?' As to who was that person...

**If Black use hane at 137th here instead of connect, chances of win would be Black favour.**

Yang Hai could only stare at the horrible grammar the strongest player in the world apparently possessed. Not very flattering.

**First time learning english, want to join game discuss, but...goodbye.**

Yang Hai could only watch as _Sai_ disappeared, the Ghost's fleeting reality disappearing as _Sai_ was soon found to be offline.

* * *

_The online Net Go world soon went up in a roar as __Sai__ was found to have not only broken radio silence not only to __zelda,__ but also to three other players tonight_, the forum post declared. _In all the cases, __Sai__ was said to have begun the conversation with a 'thank you for the game' and then proceeding to point out the flaw that had cost all three players a victory from __Sai.__ On further questioning from the second and last player, __USPatriot __and__OldasSea,__Sai__ was revealed to be not only Japanese, but also have not been able to understand English for the past two years, but had used an interpreter to send the first fateful message to zelda, the now famous 'I'm strong, ain't I?' that __zelda,__ aka Waya Yoshitaka 3-dan received approximately four years ago. However, soon after, __Sai__ had disappeared from the online world, just as many trackers had managed to triangulate his IP address to somewhere in central Japan. _

The very same Waya Yoshitaka was just stunned at this news. So Sai had talked to him using an interpreter, and he'd never known that. Perhaps he should have asked Sai last night, but frankly he was just so stunned at having met such a living legend in the flesh that frankly, all questions had just flown out of his head. Who cared about Sai on the Internet when he was right here?

Okay, so he's not actually right here now, Waya acknowledged, but Shindo's with him, so technically, Sai was still here, but not actually within Waya's place to see. However, Waya was no longer paying attention to this fact, so absorbed with this train of thought:

_Okay, so if Sai was using an interpreter at that time, who was it? I'd bet it's Shindo, except that Shindo can barely speak his own native tongue, let alone another wholly different language, or even type that language, come to think about it. Maybe Touya? But Touya didn't know who was Sai, no one can fake that sort of ignorance without winning a major Academy Award, and let's face it, Touya is probably the worst at acting. He couldn't even pull a poker face off properly without a _goban_ to sit in front of. And no other person I actually know of around Sai could have interpreted for him...thinking hurts. I'd better not, I'll think in the morning. Damn Sai and his insomnia,for playing at such an hour._

_

* * *

_

On the internet, no one was damning Sai and his insomnia; in fact, many were discussing the several _kifu_ already uploaded mere hours after the games. Many in the Western world was already discussing the possible implications of Sai, assuming he was to appear in public, during the International Amateur Cup this year, a new tournament on par with the World Amateur Go Competition.

Most of the top amateurs in the West would not have cared a jot about it if not for one reason; Japan was participating, and it is held in Japan, therefore if Japan was participating, there was a possibility, however microscopic, that _Sai_ would be there. This year, the appearance of a certain article in _Go Weekly_ featuring a certain amateur that had toppled Akiyama's monopoly had appeared and looked set to challenge Japan's Shimano for the right to represent Japan internationally. Most would not have cared...except that this amateur's name was Fujiwara Sai. Many conspiracy theorists immediately connected that person to the Internet's Sai, and a _kifu_ uploaded hours later by one of the less xenophobic amateurs present at the free-for-all who had actually witnessed the game being played by Fujiwara Sai was immediately confirmed by the online experts, _OldasSea_ and _zelda,_ to be a _Sai._

Ten hours later, airlines, transportation and hotel management companies all over the world made records as many of the world's top amateurs immediately booked tickets to get to Japan. What made it even more strange was that they booked them for in the bleak December, nearing January, which was supposedly an all-time low for the tourist season.

Which raises the inevitable question among amateurs worldwide: Was he really Sai?

* * *

Sai sighed as he packed away the laptop, careful not to touch the hot parts, into the accompanying bag with a bit of difficulty, then, with a bit of trouble, managed to fall asleep. That is, as much as he could call switching from looking at the hospital ward's ceiling to now looking at a wooden ceiling falling asleep.

He sat up. Strange; he was dressed back into the clothes he had worn for a thousand years, even with the _eboshi_, which frankly he'd never really liked all that much, as it gave him an 'air of menace' as his last student had called it. He was seated _seiza_ in a sparse room with _tatami_ floor, the calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall behind the seat opposite him indicating it was a receiving room of some sort. Before him was a proper _goban_,one with real legs and a solid body of real _kaya_ wood, and a pre-set grid all ready for the stones. The _goke_ stood at attention at either side of the _goban_, the one closest to him revealed to be black stones, meaning that the other _goke _opposite Sai should be white.

Stranger still was the figure that had abruptly materialized into the seat opposite Sai.

'Fushimi Sama,' Sai acknowledged, bowing such that his forehead touched the _tatami._'It is good to see you again.'

'I see you have suffered a physical wound,' Fushimi commented, the beautiful eyes flashing a dangerous bright topaz yellow. 'I presume it has caused no small amount of pain to you.'

'Indeed it has, and I am relieved for the existence of the substance Hikaru calls painkillers; without it I would no doubt be writhing in agony,' Sai commented. 'Medicine has advanced much in modern times.'

'It has, child, and will continue,' Fushimi remarked dryly. 'However, I have not come about this. Welcome to your dreams, young one.' the fox waved at the room's unembellished furnishings. 'Surroundings you are comfortable in; are familiar in, even. It is hard to find such serene surroundings in today's world. But enough exchange of pleasantries; you want to know why I am here.'

'Yes, Fushimi Sama.' Sai replied. _I think it's a very normal reaction to want to know why are you in my dreams._

'Well, permit an old fox to play a game,' Fushimi huffed, opening the _goke_ to reach an elegant hand in. 'Shall we?'

Sai hid his face behind his fan, grateful that even his dreams had allowed him even that. '_Nigiri,' _Sai murmured, placing a single black stone on the board as Fushimi's hand opened to reveal a single white stone.

Time had no place in his dream; its passing in no way affected Sai's thoughts, especially as all his skill was drawn in attempting to pass the obstacle of Fushimi Inari. The fox may not have incomparable talent, but creativity Fushimi possessed in spades, combined with the experience over long years that would allow even modest talents to grow teeth, proved to be a match for Sai. It was only after six ties that Sai acknowledged the sheer experience the fox possessed as something he should work on.

It was only after this that he realised that the warm _kaya_ wood was suffused with an almost unnoticeable golden glow, marred only by the stains of water, and what could be blood...it was then that he realised that the stains were fading, and he with it...

_No, I don't want to go...I want to play Go...I want to play _Go...andthen, darkness.

* * *

_**Abe no Seimei is the most famous person connected to the supernatural during the Heian era. He was the Chief Court Astronomer during that era, in which he was soon connected with the supernatural as head of the **_**onmyoji****_ family, the Abe family. Legend says that his mother, Kuzunoha, was actually a kitsune [see previous page about kitsune] who fell in love with and married Seimei's father, an ordinary human. So Seimei is actually half fox, half human. There is a shrine in Kyoto today that still honours Abe no Seimei._**

_**Given the odd circumstances of his birth, who's to say he's not still around?**_

_**Sempai is a Japanese word used by people to address their seniors in school or work or field of work. For example, Ogata is Hikaru and Akira's Sempai, having entered the pros earlier than them.**_

_**Please read and review!**_


	9. Chapter 9:The Reminiscencing Fox

_**I do not own HikaGo. However, I do own Chiaki. So stay away.

* * *

**_

_'Hmm...this child is strange...' So the voice whispered from the darkness._

_'Yes, Seimei Sama?' that high feminine voice came, amid the dim shadows and funny smells the very young, infantile Sai could perceive, among which flashes of white and skin made itself known in the shape of a white-haired, wrinkled old man. That man,he was peering at the child, apparently staring into the child's eyes, as if he could see the child's future in those eyes. What eyes...such eyes of midnight black...The man was old, but his face has not been ravaged by time as badly as most, and deep under the infant Sai could see that spark of life only infants could possess, as if an infinite well of life burned within those eyes..._

_'Oh, what intelligent eyes. The set of the jaw, the bone structure...very nice. Such long fingers; this one will grow up to be cultured. Yes, this child will grow up to be a legend. Yet, he will die in disgrace first. So, if he is dead and disgraced, how could he become a legend?' The old man rambled on in his reedy,soft voice, not unlike a whisper._

_'Oh?' Sai could recognise that voice now; it was the kind of patronising tone one used on senile old men. This old man, no matter how important, was still as old man, and thus one had to allow for the dulling of the faculties with age, but the child, though an infant at that time, knew, with a bone-deep certainty, that the old man was not ordinary at all. _

_'Nonsense, this one is not a warrior.' the voice sighed resignedly. 'He is a scholar, one who will be considered accomplished in peace, but of almost no use in war. Still, this one's fate is a mystery. Now if only I could live long enough to see it. I am old now, after all...'

* * *

_

What was that phrase used to describe waking from sleep, Sai wondered, as he found himself back in the modern era, in a bed, staring at a decidedly uninteresting greyish white ceiling that was not helped by the pink streamer of thread hanging at the top right corner and the faint ray of morning sunlight streaked across it. His leg felt heavy, unwieldy and definitely not in pain, just...felt like he was wearing a very thick and large _tabi_ sock on his left foot that he couldn't feel his toes moving in.

Pushing himself up, he noticed that Hikaru was sleeping with his mouth open in a chair beside the bed. Not very comfortable, but Hikaru had made the best of the situation apparently and had adapted such that his shorter-than-average frame managed to fit into the chair in a fashion that allowed him some sleep.

The most interesting thing was the other person seated beside Hikaru that was not only awake, like Sai, but also staring back at the Go prodigy. The other person was tall and thin, like Sai, and had long hair too, but there the resemblance ended. The hair was cut into shoulder length, and swept behind such that from the front no one could tell he had long hair. Sai only knew he had long hair as said hair had a definite pulled manner about it, emphasising the widow's peak. The face was long, lean and emphatically fox-like, and the man himself was struck in an oddly relaxed position in the chair, interestedly analysing Sai in a way that made Sai feel...a lot like his privacy was being invaded.

'So that's how,' the stranger breathed. 'And I always thought that prediction went wrong. Good morning, Fujiwara no Sai, the little child who grew up and died in disgrace.'

'You are...?' Sai closely looked at that person, noting that almost nothing looked familiar to Sai, except that this person had addressed him in the way of an era a thousand years ago. Nothing familiar except for those cold black eyes that seemed to shine like the night stars...

_They say he has his mother's eyes..._

'Abe no Seimei.' Sai breathed, recognition immediately setting in. 'You were an old man the last time I saw you. How...?'

'I was nearing my deathbed. I died in the end. The funeral was lovely, though; very nice flowers there, though I can't say I approve of the festivities. Then I had to undergo judgement because they couldn't decide if I was human or _kitsune_, and then I met the same person you did.' the reedy whisper answered. 'For some reason, my spirit is at the last time I was truly alive. You are like me now, Fujiwara no Sai.'

'Seimei Sama met Fushimi Sama?' Sai couldn't believe that Abe no Seimei had truly met with a god.

'I have a...very distant relation to Fushimi Inari from my mother's side,' the Heian _onmyoji_ mused. 'Ultimately, I am that other person Chiaki was talking about.'

'You're here as a...?' Sai could not think for a better synonym for 'babysitter'. It was so vulgar, for one thing, and no, he was not a child. Far be it for him to call Seimei a caretaker; he could not see the young man before him as a custodian. Here was probably someone like him; out of the era they were born in, thrown into this world today.

'Custodian. Caretaker. Inari would call it as 'nanny',' Seimei replied, almost shuddering. 'Of course, Inari had told me about a child who was close to the Divine Move, but you? No wonder Inari told me to go to Tokyo quickly.'

'Eh?' Sai couldn't help feeling a bit lost.

'Chiaki told you about having to re-educate you, get legal documents, and fake a background, right?' Seimei looked openly tired. 'If Chiaki is a teacher and a short-term caretaker, I step in as a long-term caretaker of some sort. Fujiwara no Sai, do you really think you are the only spirit around?'

'I...don't know. I don't know about most things. But I don't think I am the only spirit around. Seimei Sama is here too...is Michinaga Sama here?' Sai almost panicked at the thought of the great Michinaga himself in Tokyo. He had always been nervous around that person.

'No,' Seimei sighed. 'He didn't have the aptitude needed. Four of the Edo era, a few more from the Kamakura period, several from the Meiji era, then...Inoue Ansetsu...almost no others from the Heian era now. Not many are so lucky as to be able to live like you now, Fujiwara San. We are the only ones left out of the few from Heian-Kyo so long ago.'

Sai hadn't listened; his attention had latched onto one name and only one from Seimei's reminiscence. 'Inoue Ansetsu? Hattori. The _myoshu_ played that time...yes, that formation, one of the most difficult games I played...is he here?' One didn't need to be a psychologist to see that Sai was excited.

'He was given the same offer as you, but...there were some complications. Let us say that he is now in almost the same kind of situation you were in approximately four or five years ago.' Seimei sighed.

Sai's smile faded. 'You mean he's...'

'He's a _Tsukumogami_ stuck to a goban but still able to play. I'll take you to him later.' Seimei quickly stemmed the flow of questions. 'Still, you are quite unlucky, run down on your second day in the new capital. Can you get up? We can meet him now.'

'But...' Seimei caught Sai's eyes straying to the boy with the bleached bangs. 'I want my student to meet him. Is that possible?'

'Excellent, then let's go,' Seimei shrugged, picking up the bag beside Hikaru and throwing it to Sai, who, with some difficulty owing to his leg, managed to catch it.

Needless to say, Hikaru was shocked when the chair he was sleeping in was abruptly upturned, landing a generally sleepy, grouchy and irritated Hikaru from the warmer chair onto what could only be cold hospital marble floor. Or was it tile? He couldn't tell; both felt equally hard where he was right now.

'Well then,' a high reedy voice called over Sai's outraged noises about tipping his student onto the floor, and really where did your manners go, 'I think it is about time to wash up, Fujiwara San. Shindo Kun, if you could just sign this form...'

'Huh...?' the sleepy zombie that was Hikaru scrawled his signature on the proffered paper with the pen offered. 'Wha...?'

'Excellent, now I need you to sit here while Sai cleans up.' Seimei suggests cheerfully as he heard a door close, and the distant click of a locking mechanism, followed by the sound of running water. 'Hmm...not a morning person, are you?'

'Ugh...' the monosyllabic reply came.

'A sure sign of sleep deprivation, but thankfully you're out of that horrible phase which almost all boys go through,' Seimei sighed. 'I shudder to think how do I explain, what is that white stuff on the floor? I think the culprit would have been very obvious.'

That very oblique hint about wet dreams was enough to jerk Hikaru out of sleep-deprivation induced sluggishness and into active motion. 'Wha? What? Who the hell are you?'

'It seems finally our morning automaton is finally awake enough to string words together to form a sentence,' Seimei remarked. 'Good morning, Shindo Hikaru. I trust you had a good sleep, although it is a wonder how anyone can actually sleep on that hard plastic...thing. Sai is washing up at the moment by himself; that boy is actually very adaptable when we get down to the bare facts. As for me...I am Abe no Seimei, pleased to make your acquaintance.'

It was remarkable proof of having covered just enough of Japanese history in search of a certain Fujiwara no Sai that Shindo Hikaru had almost no inkling of who exactly was this person. Needless to say, like most of today's world, Japanese children have forgotten the myths and historical figures of the old civilisation they had once attained. Therefore, it was almost no surprise that Hikaru's first reaction to this declaration was a combination of sleep deprivation combined with genes that did not respond well in the morning added with having just awoken that culminated into 'Oh, yeah, nice to meet you.'

The door finally creaked open again, with Sai's head poking out of the crack, having somehow managed to change out of his shirt and into loose cotton trousers without once having to get help. Although frankly the cast was thick, but it only reached around the ankle, thus allowing Sai to be able to struggle in with some difficulty, it was still a miracle of sheer pigheadedness that he could dress himself without help due to that injury.

Hikaru was about to ask why the hell was Sai already up when he noticed that Sai's eyes were feverishly bright, a shining violet that had all the charm of the Fujiwara clan, the old clan of regents who had ruled a thousand years ago. It had the charisma of Genji Hikaru, the ideal of the Heian era, and of the glamour of the past before the samurai age, the time when peace was pursued, not war_. _That time would have been long gone, but its magic still existed, in the eyes of Fujiwara no Sai, a magic that made even an uneducated person such as Shindo falter.

'Sai? What's with that look? You look like you've just found another person to challenge and this person is said to be really strong...' all the blood drained from Hikaru's face. 'Touya _sensei_ isn't here, right?'

'No, Hikaru,' Sai replied, 'but another strong player is. Another player, one that existed before Shuusaku, is here.'

* * *

Sai certainly did not idle around, Hikaru acknowledged. Already Hikaru had realised that Seimei had made him sign the discharge forms and had already settled the bill, when barely after getting a cup of coffee that looked and tasted suspiciously like oil slick that Hikaru had found himself buoyed by the two strange hyperactive men, despite one having a sprained ankle, into a waiting cab where Hikaru now found himself in with them, clocking apparently seventy kilometres per hour as Seimei directed the cowed driver with sharp directions. In fact, Hikaru was wondering why the hell anyone would consider discharging from hospital at a bright and early seven in the morning in order to jump straight into a cab with Seimei, who seemed like Waya on steroids, too hyperactive for his own good, when the interestingly familiar façade of the Tokyo Go Institute loomed. However, the taxi stopped not at the Institute front, but a few blocks away.

'Why are we here?' Hikaru wondered as he helped Sai climb out of the taxi, Seimei having inconsiderately caught one of the crutches the hospital had loaned and was waving it about on his hand, seemingly about to poke the increasingly scared driver in the eye as Seimei got out a wallet. Having now allowed the driver no reason to hang around, the cab drove away so fast Hikaru could have seen an after-image.

'Oh yes, your game starts at around ten, right, Shindo Kun?' Seimei commented, as he finally extricated his hand from the crutch and handed it back to Sai. 'This is a little known Go salon that does not really aim to advertise itself. I have brought Fujiwara San here to meet an old acquaintance of his and doubtlessly, it will evolve into a game of some sort. Seeing as you are his student, you are privileged to witness what would be an amazing game to come.'

'Game? Between Sai and who?' Hikaru was confused, and decided to ignore how on earth Seimei knew the game schedules of the Go Association. 'Sai, what's going on? What on earth has happened?'

'Before you people begin what I think would be a scintillating discussion, let us go in,' Seimei declared as he walked up to the block in front and opened the glass door that hinted at the only entrance of what looked to be a square block of bricks and mortar. 'Gentlemen, this is a game salon.'

Perhaps it would have been more interesting to have called the place A Game Salon, outfitted in all its capital-letter glory, Hikaru thought, still confused, but reassured as Sai also looked a bit more confused at Seimei's dramatics as the trio stepped in. There was something confusing about Seimei, he was an enigma, an obsession that would bring no benefit in the end, possibly something about him that drove people mad.

The place was interesting, Hikaru thought. For one thing, the tables were all arranged in a circle around a central counter, with spaces here and there that allowed people access to the counter. The salon was littered with a mix of wooden stools and plastic and steel chairs, with, Hikaru noted with some outrage, a few Go stones. Thankfully, there were _gobans_ on the table, neatly set up and no doubt well-cared for, although old. There was also several _shogi_ boards, checkers, and what Hikaru thought was a Western white chess knight and a Chinese chess soldier on the same board. There was almost any variation of any old board game one cared to name, except for modern board games. The place, despite the disorganisation and the modern furnishings, felt like one had stepped back in time to a simpler era, an untouched pocket of time locked away in this world.

_It's almost like Sai's Go; a perfect blend of the old and new_, Hikaru mused to himself as Seimei pointed into a corner, where a single table and two chairs were placed, untouched by the chaos, a tall _goban_ and two _goke_ placed on the table, and a figure hidden in the shadows waiting. 'That's the person we're looking for,' Seimei proudly declared.

Sai immediately hobbled over to the figure and plopped down on the seat, smiling. It would have been serene if not that Hikaru could clearly see Sai's violet eyes clouded with concern. Who is that person anyway, he thought. Hikaru couldn't see the person's face, but he could tell that Sai recognised the figure.

'Hattori...? Are you Inoue _sensei?' _Sai blurted, the concern replaced by excitement. 'Alas, genius born on this earth is fleeting, but genius made on this earth is forever.' Sai quoted, Hikaru could tell.

The figure stirred, and a hand reached from the shadows towards the _goke_ and took the nearest down to set on the table. '_The Honinbo child_?' a whisper that made Hikaru's hair stand on end echoed. '_Shuusaku? That cannot be, you are not of the Honinbo school. Yet why do you know me as my nickname?_'

'We have played a game before, except that you never realised it,' Sai breathlessly continued. 'I am Fujiwara no Sai, and I was a ghost who had possessed the then Kuwabara Torajiro, later to become Honinbo Shuusaku, in order to find the Divine Move. The _myoshu_ we have created has gone down into the annals of history. As a Go player, you would have remembered it now.'

'Sai?' Hikaru was scared. Very scared. Because Sai knew this person, which meant that he wasn't any modern person, and therefore would have come from the Heian era or some later era that Sai had existed in. Sai had mentioned Torajiro, so it should be the Edo era. Having studied Shuusaku's _kifu_ like mad, Hikaru had a very good idea of which _myoshu_ they were talking about, but the other player had already died...right? 'This person...I can't see him, he's hidden in the shadows.'

'That's all right,' Seimei reedy voice whispered beside him. 'This person is Inoue Genan Inseki, who played against Honinbo Shuusaku in what history would record as Shuusaku's most difficult game ever.'

* * *

Inoue Genan Inseki. This name was synonymous with the now famous 'ear-reddening game' that Shuusaku would declare as his most difficult game ever. A name who most people remember, but other than that, almost all details have been lost to time. Everyone, and no one, remembered Inoue Genan Inseki, the romantic figure who was hidden in the shadows, out-shined by the Honinbo house and almost forgotten. Every Go player knew that name, but no one ever bothered to look past that name, all too absorbed in studying the genius that was Honinbo Shuusaku to remember the other player. Everyone knew that Shuusaku played the ear-reddening game, but against who, hardly any layman remembered now. In the ear-reddening game, Shuusaku shone the brightest, but most people had forgotten that in a Go game, the players were co-stars, and that behind that shining star, there would have been another dimmer one that no one would have seen. Hikaru knew that name, and quite well, having studied the wonderful game so many times as to have committed it to memory, but only paying attention to mostly Black's moves against White. The only player to have given the Ghost of Go a challenge such that the world had been gifted with one of the most famous _myoshu,_ Inoue Genan Inseki.

Typical of Shindo, the carefully cultivated atmosphere was shattered as his cell phone rang loudly, diverting his attention as he answered the hideously bright thing.

Sai had turned to ignore his student's no doubt extremely childish conversation with Akira [it could hardly be anyone else; the phrase 'no fashion sense, old man' was almost reserved exclusively for Touya Akira], paying attention to the hand that had placed a black stone in challenge. Slowly, black an white was laid, carefully reconstructing the game dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. 'It is you indeed, Hattori.' Sai whispered.

'_Yes_,' the voice breathed as the hand dissolved into mist. '_As you are the tactician __behind the successful general, it is I who now hold Black_.'

'So we will play,' came the reply as Sai swept up the stones to their respective _goke_.

'_Onegaishimasu.' _they pronounced simultaneously.

* * *

'Shindo, I will curse and cuss for the first time in my entire life, and you will hear me do that, if you don't tell me where on earth is that Go _sensei_ of yours!' Akira coldly pronounced, but Hikaru had not noted that Akira was intending to swear, seeing instead the game played between legendary titans. The player behind the invincible Shuusaku, against the player who had given Sai a challenge, their battle of strategy across the board spread out in clear open contest of each other.

'Shindo, did you hear me...' _Beep._ Hikaru tucked the now silent phone into his pocket, willing it to keep silent if only so he could watch this game. He had thought Touya sensei was an expert seconded only by Sai, but this player...his spirit had lingered on even in death to play the game he so loved. Sai had remained on earth for over a millennium, but Inoue Genan Inseki had lived through for almost one and a half centuries without the rest that at least Sai had received.

And he hadn't been resting much, Hikaru thought as he continued to watch the game. This was neither a game between high-_dan_ players, nor a struggle between title-holders, or a clash between rivals; this was a life-and-death match between titans, played in the old way; no time clock, no records, no commentary or _Komi,_ but a struggle of the wits to win the territory, Sai playing with the fan on his hand, the other hand busily tapping its fingers as they waited for the other to move.

Hikaru could not tell who was leading at all, so transfixed at this game, where the rest of the world had faded, and only the players and him were there to see what should rightly be another piece of the Go records. _This is a clash in an epic,_ he told himself, memorising the placements of the stones, mentally noting the coordinates. _This is genius, he thought. It shouldn't be wasted. I'll show Touya later._

Finally, as the last stone was placed, the hand dissolved into the mist, that eerie voice echoing again: '_It is, without a doubt, the power behind that child of the Honinbo. How did you come here, with Seimei too?_'

'Seimei led me here,' Sai answered, confused.

'_Excuse me, I mean turning from a spirit, gain a physical body, and appear into the modern world._' the voice explained.

'Oh. Fushimi Ina...'

'_Ah. Then he is telling me, it is time,_' the voice sighed. '_I am glad that this would be my last game here on earth. Do me a favour, Fujiwara no Sai, and record this game as you see it on paper with my name, my true name, not as Inoue Genan Inseki, and then destroy all evidence of this board. There will be no other evidence of me, not now, not ever.'_

'Why? You are here, so why...?' Sai almost gasped. Even though his expression was serene, the panic was clearly evident in his eyes.

'_I wished to play one more game against Shuusaku's strength, but Shuusaku died.' _he explained, growing fainter with each echo. _ I followed years later, but never could I dream that my will to live trapped me. Fushimi Inari gave me a chance to live even more, such that one day, just one day, I would meet such strength again. I now have, and thus, I will fulfil my part of the bargain. You will live for a longer time, and thus, perhaps, we just might meet again. This is the end of my journey...'_

And no one else knew, except for Sai and Seimei, that Inoue Genan Inseki had passed on.

* * *

_**Per essere continuato...**_

_**A myoshu is known as an 'inspired move' in Go. Examples include above-mentioned ear-reddening game. **_

_**Inoue Genan Inseki is the player who played White in the ear-reddening game against Honinbo Shuusaku. Shuusaku won by two moku, but when asked later said that it was the most difficult game he had ever played. Of course, when I said Shuusaku, I meant Sai playing through Shuusaku. **_

_**Hattori, as well as Inoue Ansetsu, is one of Inoue Genan Inseki's other names.**_

_**I have exams coming up, so don't expect another post for some time!**_

_**Please R&R! **_


	10. Chapter 10:The Disappearing Fox

_**There are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.**_

_**-William Shakespeare**_

_**If Sai was forgotten by history, what about the other? There should be more than one whose name had almost been lost to time...maybe I should do a few more. *grin*

* * *

**_

_**The Disappearing Fox**_

Frankly, Hikaru had never believed much into the supernatural set, having been brought up, like most of his generation, not to. That had changed when Sai had entered his life. When Sai had left, Hikaru had almost been convinced that he was schizophrenic if not for the existence of the game between Sai and Touya Koyo. Looking at it gave him proof of Sai's existence. When Sai returned, Hikaru had been converted into a believer, convinced that there was a god up there, although he really wasn't ready to take a leap of faith.

Of course, having now seen a player disappear into thin air just after playing an earth-shattering game with Sai soon demented his beliefs in the supernatural. That belief was soon shelved as he noticed Sai, serene and serious, wearing an expression that could almost pass for grief as he studied the game. _He must have really went all out against Inoue_, Hikaru realised as he, too, studied the _goban_. In the end, White had won by one _moku, _without _Komi. _

Sai's expression was akin to grief, but no tears came, as if Sai had finally acknowledged his passing and of his greatness as a Go player. Grabbing a handful of stones from the board, Sai disrupted the beautiful arrangements into a senseless mass once more.

Like that, the game was now lost, lost to time with no other record than the witness of two players.

* * *

'There you are, Shindo, where's Sai?' Akira asked, noting the long-haired man's conspicuous absence beside Hikaru as the boys walked into the Institute building, Akira having caught Shindo outside the building. 'This is the form for Sai to fill in, if he still wants to challenge Shimano San for the right to represent Japan in the International Amateur Cup. There's also another message.'

'Oh, from who?' Hikaru asked warily, accepting the brown envelope proffered to him.

'My father wants a rematch...' Akira trailed off hopefully. 'Where is Sai anyway?'

'I don't know,' Hikaru truthfully replied. After the game, Sai had requested Seimei to pick up the _goban_ and call a taxi to the temple. Hikaru of course wanted to know where the hell Sai was going but Seimei had asked him this: 'There are many people in the Go Institute who should probably know about Fujiwara San now. Do you want Sai to be surrounded by questions and curious Go players? Do not forget the Sai fans in Japan too.'

Seimei had a point. Ever since Waya Yoshitaka created the first ever Sai fan club, Ghost of Net Go Followers, Sai had attracted international attention from the Go world. Hikaru, having the closest style of play to Sai, had been branded as Sai's disciple. This would have been flattering if not for the Sai fanatics almost always pestering him. True, the numbers were dwindling, but Sai's reappearance was bound to raise them again..._speak of the devil and he shall appear_, Hikaru thought as Kosemura turned up on the scene.

'Oh, Shindo _sensei,_ Sato _sensei _is sick today, so you won by forfeiture,' Kosemura told them. 'Touya _sensei,_ about that Fujiwara Sai...'

'Why don't you ask Shindo, maybe he can help. After all, Sai _taught_ you Go, right, Shindo?' Touya shot slyly at Hikaru.

'First, I want to show you people something,' Hikaru fired back at them as he took one of the fold-able _goban_ the Go Institute had around and two sets of _goke. _'This game was just played barely half an hour ago, I want you to analyse it.'

'Why me?' Akira asked suspiciously.

'Because you're better at analysis, and if not I'll tell Kosemura here the contents of our phone call just now,' Hikaru retorted, grinning as his hands expertly assembled a game on the board. 'If you didn't forget, the phone call where you used certain colourful terms...'

Akira, deliberately not facing Kosemura to hide his embarrassment, took a good look at it. 'White is Sai; he started out with a _kosumi._ Black is very good, he's very experienced, and you can almost tell that he's a high_-dan,_ maybe eight- or nine_-dan._ He also plays a bit like Sai, strong classical influence but adapted to modern _joseki_. He's good, but not up to Sai's standard, seeing as Sai won. It's like Honinbo Shuusaku playing the ear-reddening move against Inoue Genan Inseki, but in modern _joseki,_ right here. Still, this game...this is a player somehow even more experienced than my father. This is like one of the old masters of the Edo era revived. Shindo, who played Black?'

The question was hanging there like a heavy fog as Hikaru deliberated the answer. Somehow he doubted Touya would accept that a supposedly _dead_ Inoue Genan Inseki played this in his afterlife. He himself would not have believed it if not for that he witnessed this game being played. 'He's a friend of Sai, Hattori,' Hikaru said, somewhat thankful for Sai having mentioned that name. 'This was his deathbed game. Hattori died after that.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' Akira replied sympathetically. _Another Go prodigy departed from this world, _he thought.

'He died smiling,' Hikaru lied. He couldn't had seen the other's face, but he _had_ seen the hand move, and heard the satisfaction of a ghost having finally found peace at playing such a final game.

* * *

'You knew,' Sai stated as the pair of them stood to watch the _goban _burn at the shrine.

'So I did,' Seimei sighed. 'I am an _onmyoji_ before I am Inari's help. Hattori needed to play Shuusaku before he could leave, and any magic I could use were invalidated before Inari. Naturally, I allowed him, to some extent, to play Shuusaku, who is you. I have known that you were Shuusaku, and at that time, I thought that you would merely create a legend, but not become one yourself. Another great rival has gone, but there are still others.'

'Hattori...he would have been happy,' the small voice whispered.

'He is,' Seimei sighed. 'Cheer up, he's gone.'

Slowly, the wood burned white-hot, white ash and heaps of little glowing splinters of wood slowly crumbling into a mass of white, black and brown. The flames crackled, and, throughout the tiny shrine's sanctuary, there was an echo, as if a breath of wind had sighed, a parting sound, a farewell sigh of one Go player to another, in the midst of death.

'You showed me to him for a reason,' Sai abruptly accused.

'How astute of you,' the dry reply came.

'You knew he was here and yet you...you never told me,' Sai sounded hurt. 'I would have wanted to play him again.'

'Do not worry, I had notified him two years in advance. Of course, I never revealed your existence out loud; I told him that Honinbo Shuusaku would play him again two years from now, and he should get his affairs in order. Being the grouchy person he was, he told me to get back to Kyoto and drag you here right there and then for the game, in not so nice terms,' Seimei chuckled. 'I would miss him.'

'Do you play pranks on all your charges, Seimei Sama?'

'Now you're just being cruel. I did tell him in advance, I just didn't tell him that Shuusaku had a backer.' Seimei replied.

'Yes, you're a tricky old fox who deliberately withheld information,' Sai shot back as the pair slowly made their way out of the shrine.

'Ouch,' Seimei winced.

Sai didn't know how on earth the driver managed to get so fast from a Shinto shrine on the outskirts of Tokyo to Shinjuku in under ten minutes. Of course, he had realised that anything involving Seimei would be fast-paced enough to possibly endanger the road. Briefly, he wondered what would had happen if Seimei was to ever get behind the wheel of the...what was that term...ah yes, car. Almost immediately he concluded that there would be several traffic accidents, almost certainly not just involving pedestrians, but possibly the evening rush hour as well.

'Nonsense, I don't care about traffic, traffic should know better than to block me,' Seimei had snapped at the driver. Frankly, Sai thought that perhaps being around Seimei could land him in several accidents sooner or later. The very thought made him panic...

'Now then, let's give Shindo Kun a call first,' Seimei exclaimed happily,fishing out from his pocket a white handphone. A very familiar white handphone.

'You stole my phone!'

'Nonsense, I merely adopted it for a while. After all, I most certainly do not think you have mastered the art of using a cell phone. Furthermore, I have even taken the liberty to key in you student's cell phone as well as several seemingly relevant numbers. In fact, I have even organised them. Therefore, you must thank me for doing this out of the kindness of my heart.' Seimei chided over the _beep_ _beep_ of the phone buttons.

* * *

The handphone rang in the Go Institute. It would have been normal except that it had rung in the middle of a game. Hikaru would have been irritated if the caller ID had not shown that it was Sai who was phoning.

'_Moshi moshi_?' he asked, still waiting for his opponent to move, impatiently tapping his fan against the _goke_ impatiently, waiting for the inevitable resignation. Part of him wondered exactly when had he given Sai his phone number.

'Good morning!' A supremely familiar and eerie voice happily told him. 'This is Abe no Seimei, calling Shindo Hikaru on behalf of Fujiwara no Sai, who is currently in a valiant attempt to recover from carsickness while the taxi is still moving and now we're somewhere in the Tokyo metropolis.'

'Abe San?' Hikaru asked, puzzled before remembering. Of course, that strange man. 'Is Sai okay?'

We must remember that Shindo Hikaru, although gifted in Go, and probably in sports too, does not have much common sense. Therefore, we must remember that in the phone call, he would have clean forgotten that seated beside him playing another opponent was Touya Akira. A pair of ears pricked up upon hearing that name.

'Oh, you two are coming over? I thought registration for the pro exam was next year.' Hikaru continued, unaware that in the Go Institute mass playing room there were already one insistent bug, but several lesser insects eavesdropping on their conversation. Most of the people in the room had heard of _Sai,_ being part of the new generation of Internet savvy pros. Of course, they were now given proof that Shindo was connected to Sai on some level. Sai was not a common name, and anything connected to Shindo named Sai had a very high chance of also being called the Ghost of Net Go.

'Is that Sai retching in the background?'

At this point most wondered what had happened.

'Oh, he's violently sick as a result of the taxi driver's racing skills,' Hikaru cheerfully continued, before almost yelling: 'What the hell?' _What kind of driver is that? _Akira almost wanted to scream, despite the good news that Sai was coming over too. Touya senior was coming over today to ask about upcoming new talents [so that he could challenge and, more often than not, crush them] or overseas amateur competitions [so that he could hopefully find his rival], and therefore the two rivals could finally meet, face to face.

'Eh? What the hell happened?' Hikaru's voice became concerned. 'Another traffic accident? Outside the Go Institute?'

Akira was on his feet and rushing out for the main entrance to hear the rest of the conversation: 'Huh? _You_ caused a road accident?'

* * *

Stepping outside the Go Institute, Akira realised that there indeed was a road accident. What Shindo had neglected to mention was that the cause of accident was what seemed to be a traffic light that had malfunctioned with spectacular pyrotechnic results and thus resulted in the entire stretch of road before the Go Institute to be caught in a state of chaos. Unfortunately, there seemed to be several cabs around, such that he couldn't see Sai...

'Akira San?' that familiar husky voice piped up, and Akira turned to see Sai hobbling up towards him in the company of someone Akira hadn't seen before. The man was taller than normal but slender, and had long black hair, but seemingly pulled back. What truly attracted Akira's attention was that the man was holding a pure white paper folding fan, much like what Shindo held. Then he wondered what relevance did this fact have.

'Fujiwara San, you're out of the hospital already?' Akira asked politely.

'Yes, the doctors said I could be discharged since I didn't have anything more than a bad sprain.' Sai had chosen to wear his hair free today, and one of the hip long strands was now curled around his fingers as he toyed with it, frowning slightly, as if the words were quite unfamiliar on his tongue. 'I am expected to recover within a month, if not sooner.'

'Good afternoon, Touya _sensei,'_ the stranger greeted, bowing slightly as he was still supporting Sai. Akira didn't like how the other person appraised him. It felt like he was undergoing his last X-ray scan; a total lack of privacy. 'My name is Abe Seimei, and I'm currently acting as a stand-in for Chiaki San today.'

'Oh, where is Chiaki San?' Akira wondered, where was the other bespectacled young man he saw with Sai just the other day.

'Oh, he had a few...family problems in Kyoto,' Seimei answered. 'Ah, Shindo Kun, you're here. Did you record the game?'

'Yeah, and I even got in a bit of commentary from Touya here,' Akira heard Shindo's voice behind him.

'You used me to provide a commentary?' Touya wasn't surprised at Shindo's actions. Shindo was, frankly, a bit of a brat.

'Come on, I couldn't write a decent analysis for my life,' Hikaru replied as he received Sai from Seimei.

'Okay, so let's get your _sensei_ and his _onmyoji_ friend indoors before Sai apparently collapses,' Akira inwardly chuckled at the strange names Shindo was associated with.

_'Onmyoji?'_ Shindo was actually paying attention for once.

'Shindo, didn't you apparently damage my copy of _Ancient_ _History_ _of_ _Japan?'_ Akira replied impatiently. 'Abe no Seimei was Chief Court Astronomer and head _onmyoji_ of the imperial court during the Heian era. Jeez, weren't you the one who threw a fit over that manga...what was it again...'

'Heian era?' Shindo's voice echoed. If Akira had turned back then, he would have seen that the question was directed at the pair of long-haired men.

Seimei grinned, and even Sai managed a weak smile. 'Give or take about eight decades,' the millennium-old men replied.

'It is not funny, Sai,' Hikaru whined later in the Go Institute's reception room. Actually, it was more like one big mess hall for Go players to stop for a snack in between games. 'Stop laughing!'

'Sorry, Hikaru, but your face...' Sai could not help but giggle. Almost silently behind his fan, of course.

Near the mess hall-I mean, reception room- entrance, two high-rank Go players were walking towards the doorway. One of them, a rotund, florid man was exclaiming loudly: 'Trust me, I'll find this player and challenge him!'

'Then I wish you luck in finding him, Kurata,' Ogata coolly replied. He himself couldn't find Sai, and only Providence had seen fit to allow him to play Sai for the second time. Judging from the expression on Shindo's face when he'd spotted the kid discussing a game, Shindo knew where was Sai. Later, he'd spotted the game they'd discussed, and he'd been impressed, but didn't know where to express his admiration to Sai without going through the brat known as Shindo Hikaru. So unless Kurata knew the connection between the two to begin with, he didn't see how Kurata could track down _Sai. _

Then they had entered the doorway, and he had spotted a familiar, very beautiful, Go prodigy. There was no doubt about the identity; Ogata had after all,run over him before.

Talk about the devil, and he shall appear.

'Oh Shindo, who's this friend of yours?' Kurata asked innocently.

'Oh, Kurata sensei, this is my friend, Fujiwara Sai. Sai, this is Kurata Atsushi 8-_dan._' Hikaru made the necessary introductions. 'Sai first taught me how to play Go.'

'Oh, then he must be very skilled. I don't remember seeing him around,' Kurata good-heartedly replied. 'What's his skill level?'

'He's not a pro, but he's strong enough to be one,' Hikaru joked. 'Sai, you're entering the exam next year, right?' he directed coyly at Sai.

'Y-yes...' the teacher replied to his student. 'But first I may consider...an extended holiday, maybe.'

'Oh, Fujiwara San, why didn't you enter the exam earlier?' Ogata probed, interrupting the conversation. 'I've seen you play before. You could've become Japan's strongest pro.'

A few years ago, the Korean representative at the International Amateur Tournament had exclaimed that _Sai_ had beaten Korea's Yun 7-dan, a feat previously unachieved even by Korean pros as Yun was regarded as one of the rising stars. Yun 7-dan himself had proclaimed that Sai was 'definitely Japan's strongest pro'. Now Ogata wanted to know why Sai _wasn't._

Hikaru was about to start with a certain tall tale when Sai interrupted: 'I was in poor straits a few years ago. I had come down with a brain tumour, and had to go overseas for medical treatment. Not to mention, my medical bills took up most of my available funds and I couldn't spare the examination fee. I had spent the past two years recuperating in Europe and had only recently come back to Japan.'

_Nice lie_, Hikaru thought. Ogata was mollified somewhat, and Kurata was almost crying at Sai's tale. 'How sad, and yet you're still alive...*sob*' Sai had once said that Hikaru had gotten better at lying, due to the necessity of keeping the fact that Hikaru was haunted by a ghost secret. Now, Hikaru wondered if lying well was another aptitude learned from Sai.

'Yes, and we even have the evidence to back it up,' a voice whispered behind Hikaru, who jumped out of his chair to get away from Seimei. 'Abe San, stop that! It's creepy!'

_Who the hell is this person_, Ogata grumbled, having not felt Seimei sneak up on them, much less heard anything Seimei had said. 'Say, Kurata, this is the great player I was talking about,' he said, motioning to Sai in the hope of influencing Kurata to do what the simple-minded Kurata almost always did...

'Oh yeah! Do you want an autograph?' Kurata proudly proclaimed, pulling out a marker pen. 'I can sign it wherever you want. You better get it now, before I get any titles and my autographs become worth a lot!'

_Typical Kurata,_ Ogata silently cursed. _Stupid enough to not pick up a suggestion. Play him!_

Sai's eyes had narrowed at the mention of Kurata. 'Oh, is that so? I'll take that if you can beat me.' the man sweetly replied. One could hear Sai's intent to slaughter if they paid attention.

'Haha! Nice, I like people with guts. Shindo, is there a _goban_ here? Looks like I need to teach your friend here his place,' Kurata was still good-natured as Shindo _plonked_ a Go set in front of them. Obviously, Kurata wasn't one of those who paid attention to faces, otherwise he would have seen Shindo's grimace.

Ogata almost smiled. Regardless of Kurata's inability to pick up suggestions, the plan was working well. It would have been better if it didn't require Sai's involvement, he conceded. Sai could read him like an open book, an aptitude that had no doubt allowed Sai to dominate the board against him. _Now I know what Touya sensei feels like, trying to find this person to play against, travelling the world in the hopes of finding him._

* * *

Kurata Atsushi was obviously a strong player. Everyone conceded this. Kurata could play on par with title-holders and still win, occasionally. _Go Weekly _placed him at one of the top ten most promising players today, and some of the older players occasionally had a bit of trouble with him, even on a good day.

Sai was excellent. No other words could be said from here.

Looking at Sai efficiently decimate Kurata's defence and control territory, Ogata could not help but admire the moves Sai had used to kill Kurata's defence. It was beautiful, and especially after breaching the defence, Sai had spread out from there, much like poisonous creepers, slowly setting up a minefield of traps the 8-dan couldn't extricate himself from. Ogata acknowledged that, given Kurata's tendency to charge full-steam ahead, Sai's method was very good to deal with it. Kurata's predictive ability, his intuitive moves, turned to Sai's advantage. Sai had, by the end of mid-game, effectively controlled the board, save for a few of Kurata's insurgent clusters. And through it all, Black stayed ahead.

White surrendered soon after mid-game.

Kurata had been struck dumb, gaping like a fish, even as Sai stretched out contentedly. 'Kurata _sensei_ is a wonderful player, but that charge just now should have been two hands later. A lesser player would not be able to deflect it, but I did. Thank you for the game, Kurata _sensei.' _Sai acknowledged.

'Wha...what the...?' Ogata pitied him slightly. Kurata hadn't received prior warning of _Sai_, and just, out of the blue, Sai had challenged him, and he'd accepted, not knowing that _Sai_ was the Internet's strongest player, or that Sai had challenged Touya senior, and won. No matter how irritating or obnoxious he found Kurata, even Kurata didn't deserve this fate.

Sai's expression was serene and calm, classically beautiful even, as handful after handful of stones were returned to their place in the _goke_. 'Kurata _sensei_ is a strong player, isn't he, Hikaru?' the man playfully teased.

'Says the one who decimated him,' Hikaru irately retorted. 'Look at this game! You went at him like you did the other just now! Sai, I think you cut him in half, like you did Touya last time!'

'If I remember, the last time we played, all the games were tied,' Sai complained.

'Yeah, you were playing around with him!' Hikaru shot back. 'In this game, you didn't hold back at all!'

'Kurata _sensei_ would not only have been insulted, but I couldn't have anyway, against Kurata _sensei_,I would have lost if I did,' Sai sniffed. 'Hikaru, you're horrible...'

'Your student is quite right,' Seimei interjected. 'Although I do concede that he's a pro and thus needed it. Fujiwara San, enough Go already, you have even forgotten to eat.'

'Huh? It's this late already?' Hikaru jumped up to check his phone; true enough, it was already five, nearing six pm. 'Sai, I'm going home, you take care of that paper!'

'Yes, see you,' Sai replied gently as Hikaru rushed out of the Institute back home. Sai looked at the strange brown envelope that would allow him to play against another strong player. He was glad that he'd come back. He was glad that he got to play Go, to move the stones himself. He was glad that Fushimi had allowed him to come back.

Still, what was the price he had to pay for this? And for how long will he wander? So he thought.

Instantly, he banished the thought. He was here, beside Hikaru, and he could play Go, and, eventually, hopefully reach the Hand of God. Life was good; what more to consider?

Still, underneath, the doubt persisted.

* * *

'Is there any upcoming tournaments coming up?' Touya senior politely requested at the Go Institute's reception counter. Although he was technically retired, the older Touya did not see any reason to stop playing and now, almost two years in his retirement, spent his time globe-trotting with his wife. A successful career as a Go player for several years had already assured the pair's living in comfort for life, with a substantial sum left over even should any of them turn out to be a centenarian. Personally, he doubted that; his own health attested to it. Either way, it meant that the receptionist had a monthly visitor requesting for flyers to amateur tournaments.

As the receptionist made some comment about several flyers left by Kuwabara Honinbo in the mess hall for when Touya senior came over [the older man wondered privately how on earth did Kuwabara deal with the drawbacks of age, still alive and kicking and apparently as irritating as ever even after several years of the sedentary, high-stress lifestyle of Go professionals], it felt as if someone had walked over his grave.

No, that wasn't right. It was, more accurately, like that time during a lightning storm where all his students had stared at him and he felt something tingling in his fingers until he'd realised that the static electricity in the air was making his hair lift slightly off. Having seen his own face in the mirror at that particular time, he could see why they looked slightly afraid. He had remembered the feeling, though; it felt like what he would have felt when he played a high-level game. He had felt that exhilaration playing Sai, and, short of jumping into a lightning storm [he was eager, not suicidal], would do almost anything to feel it again.

Two figures went past him. Or, more accurately, one hobbled past him on crutches, the other walked, supporting the hobbling figure. As he continued to study them, ignoring the receptionist's comments on the phone right now, the hobbling figure's head rose and turned to his direction.

Abruptly, he noticed the contracting of the eyes, the dilating of the pupils, and a slight curving of the mouth before the man hobbled off. It was odd for more than one reason; one being that he had never seen that man before, the second being that his eyesight wasn't so good as to spot a change in facial features three metres away, the third and last being that the man had smiled at him before leaving without a word.

Somehow, he doubted that boded well. Why on earth would strange people smile at him?

He was about to ask the young man [yes, he had noticed that, the eyes of Touya Koyo were slightly better than many assumed] about that, but the pair of them had already walked out, and, amid the fading light, disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

_**There is a belief in Japan that after a hundred years old items can gain sentience and actually become possessed. This is known as a Tsukumogami. They cannot be destroyed or exorcised except by a priest. That is why, when they burnt the goban, it allowed Inoue to go to the afterlife. Otherwise, Inoue Genan Inseki would still be trapped. **_

_**Also, remember that Sai only just got a phone. He doesn't have much prior experience with a handphone. **_

_**An onmyoji is a practitioner of onmyodo. One of their duties is exorcism. A few more include fortune-telling and feng-shui. Abe no Seimei is an onmyoji, but he's also a half youkai, as he was said to be born of a union between a fox and a human. Of course, in the crude sense, Seimei would also know magic. This would be a good explanation to how he caused a traffic accident. In fact, it would be the explanation to how he did it.**_

_**I hope I did a good job on this. **_

_**Please read and review!**_


	11. Chapter 11:The Ghostly Fox

_**I was writing this while listening to Kalafina. Inspiring stuff.

* * *

**_

_**The Ghostly Fox**_

_In a surprising twist of the tale, Akiyama Koaru's success was stopped by the proverbial wall yesterday as the Amateur 7-dan lost in the finals of the Go Association's free-for-all tournament yesterday. In a spectacular match yesterday, Akiyama lost by forfeiture to his opponent, an unknown amateur, Fujiwara Sai. When questioned about his defeat, Akiyama Amateur 7-dan simply replied that 'the difference in their strength was too high' for him to ever compete with. Fujiwara Sai had disappeared after the match with the prize money, about 100,000 yen (US$1184.95),not taking into account tax deductions,and is thus unavailable for comment._

_Many amateurs have declared Fujiwara Sai to actually be 'Sai' the mysterious legendary Internet Go player who has thrilled and cowed Internet Go players on the popular Internet site, Net Go, for over half a decade. 'Sai' had reached an even higher level of respect among the online Go community when 'Sai' apparently played an even game with then five-title holder Touya Koyo and won by half a moku.'Sai' is widely regarded as the Ghost of Net Go, famous for his silence on the Net and for never replying any messages sent to him,with the only recorded exception to date being the infamous 'I'm strong, aren't I?' to then insei Waya Yoshitaka, now Waya 3-dan. If Fujiwara is truly the Ghost, then perhaps this would be a reason for his disappearance after the game._

Kosemura was slightly nervous as the editor of _Go Weekly _himself read his article. 'You're really sure about this 'Sai' character?' the gravelly tones barked.

'Yes sir!' Kosemura replied quickly, more out of decorum than fear. The editor had a way of making his reporters feel like soldiers awaiting inspection. 'I've even gotten a quote from Touya Akira _sensei,_ and he says that it's definitely 'Sai'.'

_'_Do you have any idea how strong is Sai?' the editor asked quietly, never needing to raise his voice to inspire fear.

'No, but I've seen the _kifu_, and I've gotten comments from the International Amateur Tournament held three years ago or so, when 'Sai' first made his appearance and apparently caused a scene in the online Go scene. Just the mere mention of 'Sai' at any international tournament was enough to cause a stir in the crowd, even when 'Sai' had only just come out.'

'Well, I'll tell you,' the gravelly voice growled. 'He beat _me.'_

Many reporters of _Go Weekly _rank their editor as one of the strongest non-pro Go players alive. This was not on any official ranking but on the word of Kuwabara Honinbo, which somewhat made it truth itself. Ogata had also mentioned that the editor definitely could have been a title holder if he'd gone pro. So, if Sai was able to beat the editor...

Kosemura could already hear the title of the next article to write:

_SAI: God or Demon?

* * *

_

And so, Sai found himself at home for the second time.

Technically, it was not home; it was more of a place shared with Chiaki and now, Seimei. 'Home' was not a wide place; Tokyo's property prices ensured that none other than for the very rich could get private property anywhere near the city area. It was an apartment, not tiny enough to be a 'rabbit hutch' nor large enough to be luxurious, but comfortable enough to fit two taller-than-average men and one average man.

Upon entering the place, Sai had that abrupt feeling of stepping into a desolate forest again. The place was essentially modern, black white and brown being the predominant colours, which meant wood flooring, white walls and black upholstery, upon which a veritable library made its home there in the hall. Furniture was mostly wood and cushions, sparse but sufficient; a single low table around which one could eat while sitting on cushions, or play Go using the useful grid carved into the table itself, and with not a television in sight. Sai had bemoaned the lack of a 'magic box with people inside' until Chiaki had shown him the computer at the far end of the hall. Branching off was three bedrooms, one for Sai, one for Seimei, and the last which Chiaki shared with the resident ghost, a former resident of the place.

Which thus explained how the fox could get such a prime catch near Shinjuku station for only thirty thousand a year; the owner was desperate to give it away.

Sai had had the usual reaction upon learning of the apartment's other resident; he had panicked until meeting the ghost. Even two days away from it didn't help Sai with the problem.

'Which goes to show that even a ghost can be afraid of ghosts,' Chiaki grumbled as Sai jumped away from the long-haired, white-robed wraith drifting out of the tiny kitchen carrying a tray bearing tea implements. 'You used to be a ghost yourself, why are you afraid of ghosts?'

Sai briefly wondered what would Hikaru's reaction be upon meeting the spectre named Haru. Being quite predictable, Hikaru would probably freak first. Much like when they had first met. Except this time, Hikaru would probably call the exorcist first, and then freak until the ghost was safely gone. Sai had wondered what would happen if Hikaru did choose to see an exorcist instead of play Go. Not that it would help much; Torajiro found the same problem too. Except that Torajiro had had professional help attempting to remove Sai with no success, an indication of Sai's stubbornness when playing Go was concerned.

_'Date...' _Sai could only pout as Haru moved to hover near the bespectacled Chiaki.

'I told you to move already or at least make your adopted spectre less...like a ghost,' Seimei commented. 'I could do it, if you prefer...' he whispered, flicking his fan.

'No, no, it's fine, really,' Sai hurriedly replied before Seimei could cause another spectacular accident. Of course, he had heard the stories during the Heian era about Abe no Seimei's spectacular exorcisms and eccentric mannerisms, but that was to be accepted; people who exorcised other things normal people couldn't see [and it usually worked] would tend to be eccentric, but never had he associated Seimei with magic until Seimei had waved his fan at the traffic light and caused it to explode spectacularly.

'If you say so...' Seimei looked disappointed as he kept the fan.

'If you try anything funny, I'll throw you out, Abe,' Chiaki warned as he stirred the tea pot, having already poured in the hot water and tea powder.

'You're no fun, Kuroki,' Seimei pouted.

'Kuroki?' Sai asked, looked at Chiaki.

'My surname. I had to have one to get around, right?' Chiaki scowled at him, capping the teapot. 'It wasn't my choice.'

'I see, it's just...unusual,' Sai carefully chose his words. 'Not many have that name.'

'Not many at _all,'_ Seimei echoed, dodging the spoon Chiaki hurled at him.

* * *

After several hours of observation, Sai could only conclude that Seimei and Chiaki had a rivalry going on and it was best mostly to sit back in the surprisingly comfortable wooden armchair that made up the only free-standing furniture over a metre tall in the room and watch them argue with each other over some of the most ridiculous things. The novelty wore off at around ten, he noted, when the two departed at the exact same time to their own rooms. It was weird, how they could argue all the time and yet still stay in the same house. Sai thought that they would have destroyed the place already, at the rate they went.

He laid back into the chair, tentatively wiggling the toes still in the cast. He could still feel them, and he could still feel his feet, but he looked forward to when he could get it off. It was...unusual, and a serious impediment to movement.

His mind then managed to turn itself from the mundane faculties of his feet and to his rival. Touya Koyo was still alive and in apparent possession of all his faculties, as Sai deduced. Sai had been slightly worried upon hearing how two years had passed, and had fervently hoped that Touya senior was still alive. To see his rival in the flesh, and to be seen in return...somehow, that made up for all the drawbacks of having a physical body.

Sai looked at his hands as an idea came to him. He could remember that he had played many games since he got a physical body back. Many, many games. Still, he could not find any additional calluses, wrinkles or any mark of the passage of years. He frowned slightly, remembering how Fushimi had commented on the lack of white hairs he had, to which he had replied that it was a benefit of youth. And his leg...already, he couldn't feel the pain. It was as if the bone had set itself into its proper place already.

The realisation dawned.

_I have time..._

_Touya Koyo doesn't.

* * *

_

The former _Meijin_ was currently in his house, studying an empty board. Across him knelt his student, the _Juudan_ Ogata, who laid out a game for him to see, stone by stone. Both men were well-fed and rested, but there was no denying that, for the first time, the older man felt excitement under the contentment, at what could be a glimpse of his rival. The ghost he had chased across the Japan Straits and back had deigned to materialise in Tokyo now, but for how much longer, he did not know.

Slowly, the black and white stones, piece by piece, formed a beautiful battlefield, the battlefield on which Kurata had faced off against _Sai._ Indeed, it was either the genuine article itself or an experienced fake. Seeing as the young man Ogata had described had beaten Kurata, who was due to challenge for the _Ouza_ title soon, it could not have been a fake. Therefore, it must be the real article. Briefly, the older man considered asking why the young man was injured, but then he remembered what Akira had told him and wisely kept silent. Seiji had apparently felt very guilty, such that Touya senior had seen Ogata pull off an earpiece before entering the house. He thoroughly approved Ogata's new habit of using an earpiece, much safer for pedestrians that way.

But he digresses; his attention turns to the board as Ogata laid the last stone where Kurata had surrendered. Immediately, they know.

'He is here,' the former _Meijin_ breathed. Then, to Ogata's surprise, he chuckled. 'An old fool's dream has come true.'

'If you say so,' Ogata acquiesced. 'He doesn't look like a Go player at first sight. With that long hair and dressing, I didn't think he was good. In fact, if I didn't play him myself, I would never have believed it.'

Immediately the memory of the young man today came back to him. _Long hair?_ From behind, a long-haired man might seem like a woman. So that was how he hadn't noticed the man; they had disappeared into the crowd. Still, why had the young man smiled at him...?

He could feel his heart beating faster as realisation fell into place. _What if...?_

_What if Sai was truly here?_

Touya Koyo was not a very religious person, but on that very night, he felt like he could climb even the tallest mountain and praise the higher powers up there. He had not believed Akira's words initially, but now, confronted with irrefutable proof, he could believe.

_Thank you, Kami Sama._

'I'm back, O Tou San,' Akira announced as he stepped into the Go study. 'Oh, good evening, Ogata San. What are you studying?'

'One of Kurata San's games. Kurata was a bit pissed that he lost to the opponent,' Ogata smirked. 'Until I told him how An Tenson lost badly to him as well.'

'Who?' Akira was puzzled.

'Sai,' Ogata replied, almost like he was happy. Ogata Seiji, happy. Ecstatic, even. And Sai hadn't disappointed; every move was flawless, save for one which was invariably a trap. It was a good game, brutal, but good.

Ogata Seiji, happy. Akira was afraid. Ogata Seiji was simply...not very happy. Ogata Seiji did not smile outwardly at the world in a happy voice. Yet, Ogata Seiji was happy. Which meant...

'How was your last game for the right to challenge Ichiryuu _sensei_ for the _Kisei_ title?' Akira asked innocently.

'Fantastic, the old geezer wasn't at his best,' Ogata gave a non-committal shrug.

The mystery was solved.

* * *

Hikaru missed his ghost.

When he was twelve, he had suddenly become attached with a ghost who apparently loved to play Go so much that not even death had stopped him from playing. Sai had introduced him to Go, and allowed him to first meet Akira, from which he then played on, to one day catch up to Akira and be acknowledged as a rival worthy of having. He had fallen in love with the game. Sai had taught him Go, and with it a love for Go. Now, he followed many others before him, down the never-ending road to that perfect game, that everlasting move, the Divine Move. Then Sai was gone. The feeling was much like losing an arm or a leg; it hurt like hell. It hurt until Hikaru realised that, much like an arm or a leg, Sai still lived on in him. Sai lived on in his Go, so as long as he played, Sai could still live.

Then Sai had returned, and it was like regrowing an arm or leg; pleasant but needing some getting used to. Now, Sai was temporarily gone, and Hikaru felt uncomfortable again.

_What if he disappears again...?_

Hikaru was horrified. Sai couldn't disappear again, he just _can't. _Sai can't leave, not after just coming back, not after just playing a game, not now.

_Sai..._

_Hikaru...Hikaru..._ 'HIKARU!'

Sai's previous attempts at scaring his wits out were nothing compared to right now, where Hikaru found his Go _sensei_ jumping about his room. He was definitely not going crazy; Sai was definitely here, as attested by the mess made by Sai's entrance. Sai was, although slender, taller than average and thus was now sprawled out on his student's floor. Uncharacteristically, Hikaru wondered why Sai's leg's were so incongruous in the loose cotton pants with one cast sticking out of the left leg, but then he realised that Sai had just appeared out of thin air.

'Sai!' Never in his life would Hikaru outwardly admit having missed Sai, or at least not until Sai had just escaped a life-threatening situation. 'Why are you here?' Then he asked the more interesting question: 'How did you get here?'

'Huh? Eh?' It seemed that Sai had found himself in his student's room again, and not in a good way. 'I don't know. I was just thinking about how I wanted to play Go, but no one would play with me, and I wanted to use a real _goban_...' then he'd thought about it and focused on it and before he knew it he was there and how had that happened he didn't know, but he wasn't going to complain.

It sounded like a puppy complaining about being kicked. Even Hikaru found that a bit difficult to resist. 'Fine, we'll play,' the student sighed in the face of his teacher and those violet puppy eyes. Dragging out his _goban _and the _goke_, he took Black, as Sai took White. 'Same rules?'

'Okay, I want to see how much you've improved,' Sai smiled as he fished out his fan from his pocket.

Then, all conversation stopped as the pair laid out their stones. Black and White contrasted against each other, the distant past reaching out to the far future, paving out a single, yet varied road. Black and White fought for dominance on the board, as had many more of them before, the stones paving out a fierce battle. Go was a skill where people had to open their hearts and trust their opponent, and as teacher and student, the pair of them trusted one another. However, even that trust could not stop the inevitable.

'_Makemashita_,' Hikaru bowed and said the concluding words before turning on his teacher. 'Sai, you beat me again! Don't you show any mercy?'

'You have improved plenty in the time I was gone,' Sai noted. 'I could not actually see the extent of your game two nights ago, but now I can clearly see it. You've grown stronger, Hikaru.'

'No thanks to you,' Hikaru retorted before reflex action forced him to cover his mouth. _Oh shit..._

Sai had frozen in that almost comical way that would have been funny if you didn't count the fact that Sai freezing in any way wasn't good at all. 'Sai? Sai, are you all right, talk to me...' Hikaru almost panicked.

Until Sai's fan flew out at him, tapping him right between the eyes. 'Of course not, but don't get cocky,' Sai had turned into a reproaching mother hen. 'I can still beat you!'

'Oh yeah? Let's try again!' Hikaru challenged, with a handful of stones in his fist.

* * *

'You're evil!'

'I am not,' Seimei insisted. 'I simply sent our little charge out of the house. He was getting bored and lonely.'

'You could call a cab,' Chiaki acidly replied. 'Or even take the car. There was no need to send him there like that now, was it? People will be wondering how on earth did he get there.'

'He's a ghost,' Seimei replied, moving closer to Chiaki over the grid etched into the table. _Pachi_. 'So I flew him there.'

'That doesn't make any sense at all, and into the room?' _Pachi_.

'Hmm...yes,' came the reply.

'What ever it is, you're just not going to mention the conveniently extra gifts Fushimi gave him, right? You're just going to screw up the child's life all over again.'

'He will figure it out for himself,' Seimei firmly answered as he placed the last stone. 'And then he will come to us for answers.'

'Besides,' Seimei added, 'he's already of age. Why do we still call him a child? I do believe he's older than you by about six centuries.'

'Shut up, Abe,'

'With pleasure, Kuroki,'

* * *

When Sai woke up from the oblivion of sleep that had claimed him sometime around where Hikaru began to nod off in the middle of the game, he noticed that firstly, Hikaru's face was all over the _goban_. Then, he noticed that his hand was still stuck in the _goke_. What was weirder was that the _goke _was still closed, so, against all scientific thinking, his hand had passed through solid faux wood into the _goke_.

Waking up to this was enough to ruin the day already.

_'AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!' _Sai's screams of horror reverberated around the room, shocking his student awake immediately.

'Sai, what the hell are you yelling about...' Hikaru blearily rubbed his eyes, digging out Go stones from where they had managed to adhere themselves to his face. 'Was it a nightmare?'

Sai studied his right hand again, the one which he'd pulled out of the _goke_ earlier. 'I...it must have been a bad dream.' Sai acknowledged.

'Well, don't do that next time!' Hikaru almost yelled, quietly thanking the gods that his parents were currently on their second honeymoon to Hokkaido. So Sai's yells had gone quite unnoticed in the house, which thus explained why Mrs Shindo wasn't knocking on the door demanding to know why someone was yelling in his room.

'Er, yes, sorry,' Sai apologised as Hikaru sleepily shuffled to the bathroom, all traces of the energy gifted by adrenaline now gone.

Over the sound of running water, Sai slowly studied his hands again. Placing his hand on the _goban, _he made a motion to push through. His hand met the resistance of the hard wood, and he couldn't push through no matter what he tried.

He relaxed, his stance already crumpling with relief. There was nothing wrong with him, he wasn't somehow passing through solid objects...yes, all was right with the world...

Dazed, he only just registered that his cast had been slipped off and was now lying in a corner of the room. Add to that his hand was sinking through the _goban..._

Later, Hikaru found his Go _sensei_ unconscious and lying on his messy floor in a dead faint.

* * *

Touya Akira was an early riser. He normally was, but nobody said that he was a morning person. Touya Akira was possibly one of the most morning-unfriendly people on earth. Today was one exception. You'll be alert too when your rival calls you up at six in the morning to panic about his Go _sensei_ having fainted.

Akira was actually quite proud about how he'd kept his calm, told Shindo to shut up and check for a pulse. Following which, to check if Sai was breathing. Akira found himself openly praying that Sai was breathing, a fact which he wouldn't admit if confronted with it, later on, until Shindo announced that Sai had a pulse and was breathing.

Then he'd expelled a breath he never realised he was holding and told Shindo to splash water onto Sai.

Shindo had hung up after that, leaving Akira to come up with various theories as to what on earth had happened to Sai:

_Sai could've collapsed from a heart attack. That's not possible, a heart attack would have killed him. He wouldn't have been breathing._

_Stroke? Listen to yourself, Akira. A stroke? Are you joking?_

_Then...maybe he got an epileptic fit._

_Yes, maybe. But what could frighten him?_

The inner monologue was disrupted by the bone-deep tiredness that now overcame Akira, as he succumbed to sleep, his last conscious thought being, _Stupid Shindo.

* * *

_

_**I hope I managed to put Ogata a bit into character there. I was actually afraid he was going to turn out all OOC on me. **_

_**In that last bit, people might wonder why Sai managed to turn out a bit like Shadowcat [X-Men]. I added that last bit in as a possible plot line to explore, tell me what you think.**_

_**Maybe I should allow the two great rivals to meet soon...**_

_**Please, read and review!**_


	12. Chapter 12:The Appearing Fox

_**I do not own HikaGo. **_

_**There, there's the disclaimer.

* * *

**_

_**The Appearing Fox**_

When Hikaru had walked out of the bathroom, having already relieved his bodily needs and done the typical stuff done inside a bathroom every single morning in Japan [unless you have a completely different schedule?], seeing Sai in a dead faint on the floor, a sight Hikaru had never seen prior to this, was enough to introduce a lot more adrenaline into his system than should be healthy or appropriate. Needless to say, not knowing what to do, he called one person who might have any semblance of an idea what to do when Sai was suddenly unconscious: Touya.

Of course, that meant putting up with the slurs of Touya bright and early in the morning. Hikaru, in his panic, had completely forgotten that Touya was hardly at his best in the morning, having been rudely awoken by what Hikaru had no doubt to be the cellphone's ringing. At least Touya didn't sound like a sleep-deprived zombie, and had given coherent directions on how to deal with Sai.

When Sai had woken up, the first thing that came out was a torrent of words spoken so fast as to be completely incoherent even to Hikaru's practised ears, even as Hikaru knelt to be level with Sai. And Hikaru had had a lot of practice with incoherently, quickly spoken conversations, mostly in spoken Go games with Waya to and from the Go Institute. Rapid-fire of stone coordinates must be well-backed by rapid percipient of said coordinates that could be garbled to the point of near misunderstanding but would also be crucial to the hypothetical game between them.

'Sai, don't do that again!' Hikaru yelled as he pummelled his teacher's heaving chest.

Sai winced. 'Hikaru, what are you...?'

When Sai had appeared, the dam that had stopped Hikaru from lashing out at Sai had already been built. Over the course of the days, the emotions of a normally active boy who was also a Go pro had coalesced, the initial base of confusion and relief, added with the worry, concern and panic when Sai was run over, or almost run over, then left to stew over for more than a day, a potent mix that erupted with the final catalyst of Sai's having fainted. The torrent of emotions poured out there...

'First you disappeared without a warning _at all_, and I couldn't find you, and I even ran all the way to Innoshima and to _all_ the Shuusaku sites in Japan _just_ on the off chance that I could find you again, and then it lasted for so long I almost _quit_ Go, I didn't want to play without you around, and then two years later you return, and then you get _run over_ by a car, and you even landed in hospital, and even after that you just suddenly _fainted!'_ Hikaru all but screamed. That is to say, one could probably hear it from, oh say, the kitchen. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen.

Sai could only watch Hikaru manhandle, or at least attempt to manhandle his body around, as Hikaru continued to yell at him about some of the most random things. He could not remember being involved in some things, like having given Hikaru schizophrenia, but he could understand, to a small extent, what Hikaru must have felt. Regardless of how much potential Hikaru had, never mind how good a game Hikaru played, he still knew that Hikaru was young, and the young were temperamental and would, of course, react something like this. In truth, this was a tantrum very like Hikaru. Right up to the point where Hikaru began to cry, right in front of him.

Sai had had not much experience with this, but he did the only thing he could: he pulled himself up into a kneeling position and placed what he hoped was a consoling hand on his student's shoulder. 'Hikaru, look at me,' the soft voice now turned slightly harder, with a sharp edge to it. The student obeyed.

'I...cannot make any promises on whether I will disappear. I do not know how much time I was granted.'Sai heard himself say. 'I _may_ have a body now, but then time will pass on, and someday, I will have to leave again, but that someday would be slightly longer in the future. However, what I _do_ know, is that for now, and for the foreseeable future, I am not going anywhere. Even if I am, I will give prior warning,if I can.'

'Hikaru,' the voice of Sai was gentler now, backed with the infinite patience that could only belong to a saint, 'I am not going to leave you alone now.'

And the student, at that, could only nod his head in agreement.

* * *

Two hours later, the pair of them descended the steps to the lower floors of the Shindo house and made their way into the kitchen. Sai notes that almost nothing had changed since the last time he was...here, as a spirit. There was a new_ ...coffee-maker,_ and perhaps a new addition such as that _...blender._ On the whole, the details had changed, but the place had still remained.

Sometimes Sai hated these new lexicon. It was just so...unusual sometimes. Chiaki had only mentioned it somewhat in passing, as none of the foxes really drank coffee, and he really couldn't recall his peer, Seimei, actually touching coffee before. Of course, he'd only just met Seimei after about a thousand years, and coffee surely didn't come to Japan during the Heian era then. Seimei, if he actually drank anything, would be more of the type for alcohol. Sai had never actually met anyone else in the old court who actually gave minors alcohol except for Seimei.

_Seimei_..._If he forgot to tell me anything about my 'condition', senior or not, I will __retaliate,_ Sai decided.

Never anger the Fujiwara, even the weaker ones.

'Tea?' Hikaru suggested, pulling a mug from the_ ...drying_ _rack_ besides the sink. And this era still offered such useful amenities. Having been acquainted with the Heian era _facilities_, or lack of them, Sai was inclined to think of plumbing as the next best thing to Go occasionally. Indeed, life has changed from a thousand years ago.

'Yes, thank you,' Sai replied, taking a seat at the table the Shindo family had. Almost immediately, he wondered what to do today. Generally, as a ghost, he would have followed Hikaru everywhere as his student went about on his daily life, clamouring for more games to watch and to play. Then he would probably bug Hikaru for another game, and when Hikaru accepted, Sai would play _Shidougo _against Hikaru, if slaughtering his student again and again was counted as _Shidougo. _But that had been when he was a ghost; he seriously doubted that he could do all that now with a body. Hikaru would get bored, he knew, and he himself needed an occasional break from Go now and then. His was a long-term romance, not a short-term passion for the game.

But he digresses. What to do for the rest of the day? Perhaps he should have a look at this Shimano he was supposed to play against the upcoming week. Maybe he could find some of this person's _kifu._ Yes, that was a good idea. Now, as to where he could probably find a collection of _kifu..._

'Sai? Sai, are you okay_?_ Damn, you had that intense look on your face again,' Hikaru commented as he set a mug of hot water with the string of a teabag sticking out of it in front of Sai. 'Sorry, I don't know how to make tea. Do you want anything? There's some bread, if you like, and there's something in the fridge I could probably make...' It looks like Hikaru was trying to be a good host, and failing.

'Uh, no, it's all right,' Sai hastily replied. 'I was just deciding what I should do now.'

'Huh?' Hikaru had froze instantly at that.

'I don't have a job, Hikaru. The only reason I've managed was with help from the _Kami_ who claimed to have been rehabilitating me,' Sai patiently explained. 'Hikaru, I can't just play Go all day, even I need a break from it sometimes.'

'Then what about last time, when you kept bugging me to let you play?' Hikaru retorted, a shadow of the brat still apparent.

'I never knew when my next game was coming, so of course I wanted more to play, more people to play with,' Sai replied slowly. 'On hindsight, it was quite selfish of me, forcing a child to play a game he didn't want to, but now...some things have changed.' The apologetic look Sai gave to Hikaru immediately persuaded the student to forgive any and all transgressions. 'I have a physical body, and with it the bodily needs. Although sometimes I do forget to eat,' Sai sheepishly admitted.

'Sai, you're weird,' Hikaru told him, slotting two pieces of the white thing Sai supposed was bread into the...what was that? Oh, a _toaster._

How odd.

'Oh, maybe I'll check if the newspaper is here,' Sai said, carefully pronouncing the word for 'newspaper' as he got up.

'I don't suppose that featured much in you life for the past two years either,' he heard Hikaru mutter.

There was nothing very substantial in the papers, but Sai didn't care much anyway. What he did mind was the numbers section.

'Sai, what are you doing?' Hikaru asked nervously as he watched his _sensei_ with the same expression normally reserved with a tough opponent, slowly studying the newspaper with a pen in one hand, and the cup of tea in the other.

'Guessing numbers,' Sai replied. 'Chiaki San taught me the rules of this game. The newspaper would print this whole list with numbers, and then with it we guess how the numbers rise and fall depending on a number of factors. It's a bit fun, but only for a while.' Then somehow it would always move on to a Go game, which Sai would win. Chiaki was a good player, but not much of a challenge.

Hikaru crossed over to see the 'numbers section'. 'Sai,' he sounded scandalised, 'that's the _stock_ _exchange_ _page.'_

'Was that the name for it?' Sai innocuously replied, not paying much attention. 'Looks like the yen would rise some more, and so would this...' As Sai pointed at the newspaper, Hikaru noticed a gleaming bracelet on his hand. 'What's that?'

'What? Oh, this,' Sai waved the bracelet. 'It's a medical bracelet, I think. Seimei Sama told me that since I had to pass off my condition as a brain tumour, I might as well wear a bracelet that declares me as epileptic so that my lie would fit in better. Also, he told me to fake a swallow reflex if I couldn't answer any question posed. He also told me to keep the fiction up as long as possible, seeing as no one else knows I'm actually from the Heian era...'

'Sai, there's a study session at Morishita _sensei's_ place today. Do you want to come along?' Hikaru really knew his teacher well, stopping Sai before he could ramble on and reveal more details about the Heian era than what was written in the history books.

'_Yatta_! Can I play more Go?' Sai once again looked more like a child than what would normally be an adult.

'Of course. I think,' Hikaru drawled, 'everyone would want to play you.'

* * *

_'Konnichiwa, _Morishita _sensei,_' Hikaru was greeting just after a sumptuous lunch with Sai [which he'd paid], as the house of Morishita Shigeo 9-_dan._ 'I brought a friend with me today. Can he join our discussion?'

The older man just laughed. Morishita was one of the old-school Japanese and came with the sense of humour that differentiated him from the rest of them. 'Come on right in, then! What's your name, kid?'

Sai decided not to take offence at being called a kid. 'I am Fujiwara Sai, pleased to meet you,' he decided to say.

A few months ago, Chiaki had declared his speech too archaic and had proceeded to drill him with more modern speech patterns. Now, Sai sounded just mildly like Touya Akira. It was a great improvement from the last time, where he would continue on with a poem hastily jotted on the spot. Sai reflected that some things were much simpler than court life so many years ago now.

He still used _keigo_ occasionally though. It was polite.

Morishita led them through the hallways before coming to the study. Waya, Honda and Isumi were already present. Upon seeing Sai behind, Waya leapt up and pointed at him, shouting, 'You!'

'Waya! Don't be rude!' Morishita smacked his disciple on the head with his fan. 'Okay, we have a newcomer today. Fujiwara, meet my student, Waya, his friends Honda and Isumi. This is Fujiwara, a friend of Shindo's whom he invited today.'

'I have met them before. Waya 3_-dan,_ Isumi 4_-dan,_ and Honda 3_-dan, _correct?' Sai playfully asked.

'Er, yes. You read _Go Weekly_, huh? Do you have a ranking?' Morishita scratched his head as he asked.

'No, I'm so sorry, I am an amateur. However, I should be quite good...' Sai looked doubtful.

'Oh? Waya, gage this guy's strength while I find those _kifu_ we were supposed to go over today...' Morishita grumbled as he walked out of the room.

Almost immediately Waya grabbed Hikaru by the shirt. 'Why is Sai here,' Waya growled into Hikaru's face, 'when he wasn't before?'

'He could finally attend this study session by himself,' Hikaru defended.

'Well, why don't you give us the run-down now, huh?' Waya grumbled as Isumi pulled his hands off Hikaru and the pair settled. 'No, better, let Sai tell his story.'

Hikaru looked worriedly as Sai carefully arranged himself on the cushion before the Go prodigy began his assumed tale:

'Erm...where should I begin?' Sai sheepishly asked.

'Let's start with about...five years ago.' Waya conceded. 'Around the time Shindo met Touya.'

Hikaru had to admit that Sai looked nervous as his sensei continued:

'Five years ago, when I was...about fourteen or fifteen, I came down with severe headaches. Upon medical examination, I found out that I had a brain tumour. In my case, my tumour was around the spinal cord, which thus led to motor difficulties as the tumour advanced. I was so weak at that time, I couldn't even hold a single stone...I couldn't play Go, the game I love...

Around that time, I was beginning medical treatment when I met Hikaru in the hospital. Apparently, Hikaru was there because he had apparently fallen unconscious while moving a _goban_. He heard about my...story and offered to play with me, with him placing the stones for us. Of course, I soon realised that Hikaru had not the least idea how to play, but I taught him how to play.'

Hikaru shot a dirty look at his teacher that was missed by the rest of them, so intent to hear Sai's story.

'A few months later, I believe Hikaru met Akira San. The first time was without regard for _Komi_, and we played Black, winning by two _moku_. The second time... the outcome should be best left unknown.'

'Huh! Why!' Waya whined. Waya wasn't the only brat around.

'We should respect Akira San's privacy concerning that second game,' Sai admonished. Hikaru saw the brilliance of that move; direct Waya's further enquiries to Akira. Touya wouldn't want everyone to know how a beginner somehow managed to cut his head off, and would therefore keep quiet there.

'After that, we continued to play again and again for a few months until Hikaru found this website advertising Net Go at a Go convention. Hikaru helped me to set up an account on it and moved the mouse to place the stones where I dictated. During the summer holidays, we played many people online under the name _Sai...'_

'I knew Shindo had a connection to Sai!' Waya triumphantly whispered loudly. Hikaru could only dumbly admire how Sai managed to fit that into his story.

'And that was the end of that chapter of the tale. During the times in between, my condition grew steadily more serious. The doctors recommended that I undergo surgery overseas, having no surgeon experienced enough to operate on me. I...had kept my condition secret from Hikaru as he was preparing for the Pro examinations to chase after Akira San.'

_Don't pull me into this, stupid Sai! _Hikaru mentally yelled.

'Hikaru, as a favour to me, helped me to arrange a game with Touya Koyo, the man whom I had always wanted to play,' Sai continued wistfully. 'It was a good game, a very good game, one that was everything I expected, and more... sadly, two days after, I disappeared on _Kodomo no Hi._'

_Very nice, Sai. It's too vague._

'I had to go overseas for my operation, and before that I couldn't contact Hikaru,' Sai's eyes were almost brimming with tears. Or it was a trick of the light. 'I left Hikaru alone for the past two years, without any warning at all...'

Suddenly, it didn't matter that Isumi's face had softened, that Honda almost looked like he was crying, or that Waya's was staring in astonishment and...maybe a bit of uneasiness at Sai. Hikaru had just realised one thing:

Sai was not only good at Go, but also can be really convincing, if given incentive. If he hadn't lived it, he wouldn't have believed that Sai was a ghost now returned...Sai's lie had not only helped to explain many things like how his Go was similar to Sai's, and why Sai never became a pro, and even why he couldn't play Sai face to face. And he thought he was good at lying; Sai's lying was _phenomenal_.

* * *

'Shindo, I never knew you were such a noble person,' Honda commented as they set up the _gobans_ after that.

'You should have seen Sai that time, he was so weak, he could barely hold a stone,' Hikaru remarked. 'Anyway, I owe it to that guy that I met Go and Touya in the first place.'

'Heh? So maybe we'll see how strong your _sensei_ really is,' Morishita remarked as he walked in. ' Waya, play him. Use White.'

'Yes sir,' Waya cheerfully replied, both players taking their places at the _goban_. 'Komi is six point five _moku,_ okay, Sai? I'm going at this with my full strength!'

'It has increased again, I see,' Sai remarked, placing the first stone at 17-4.

Waya was pretty sure that he had improved. Sure, he had played this character before, but it wasn't like he was actually expecting this young man to really be _Sai_, and most probably a hoax. Also, he'd comforted himself by mentally convincing himself that he wasn't playing at his best. Now, with the spectre of Morishita sensei, perhaps he could be more motivated...although he knew it was unhealthy to develop this attitude.

Sai was a strange character too, he thought. He was holding a fan such that the lower half of his face was hidden, and the man Waya had pegged as the type to show his feelings openly had become as serene and unreadable as a Buddha. Waya could actually feel the intensity emanating off Sai, and he felt small, insignificant almost, before the man with the fan.

_The mask of Sai_, he joked to himself as he placed another white stone, and Sai replied almost instantly. That single stone had spelled Waya's defeat already.

* * *

Morishita sucked in a breath of air. 'Whoa,' he uttered, 'what skill...are you really an amateur?'

'The last time I remember, I had not taken the exam due to my condition,' Sai replied. 'I am still an amateur, yes.'

'What talent, then,' Morishita commented.

Honda and Isumi were, simply put, amazed and humbled by Sai. 'So this is Shindo's teacher...' Honda breathed. _What a game..._

'You did good, Waya,' Morishita told his student. 'Really good.'

'I know,' the red-haired pro managed to stutter. 'Wow, Sai has improved, and in only a few days.'

'Oh, you know this guy, Waya?' Morishita asked.

'Duh, all the pros online know _Sai,'_ Waya shrugged. 'He beat Touya Koyo after all.'

_

* * *

Oh_ _shit,_ Hikaru could tell, things were about to get bad.

Morishita's face had gone white, his jaw dropping out, as he struggled with the next words. 'You're telling me, that an _amateur_ beat Touya Koyo?' he all but yelled. Oh hindsight, Morishita's yell would be louder than his students'.

'Sure, it was on Net Go. I saw that game. I think the _insei_ still use the _kifu_ as part of the curriculum. Half the pros are on Net Go today because of _Sai. _Morishita sensei, you still remember the International Amateur Tournament, when I was still an _insei,_ and I was there and I mentioned Sai, then all the amateurs there were so excited, they all thought Sai was going to be here in Japan? He's a strong player, _sensei.' _Waya continued, oblivious to the scene he had created with his declaration.

_Stronger than you,_ Waya silently added.

* * *

Two hours later, Morishita Shigeo had to admit that yes, Sai had fantastic skill, such that the battle in end-game was close, but the result was that Morishita lost by five _moku, _even with the new _Komi_ rule. Even as he tried to convince himself that it was a fluke, the truth still remained that Sai had won against a 9_-dan_ pro without prior notice.

_It's like playing against the Go Saint Shuusaku himself_, Morishita acknowledged. _Honinbo Shuusaku having learnt modern _joseki. _Waya wasn't joking there, this guy's like the 'invincible' Shuusaku._

'_Arimasen_,' Morishita acknowledged. Sai properly closed the game, and the pair of them then realised that not only had the _kifu_ lay forgotten, but their students were avidly tracking the game, Waya scribbling what looked like the game just now on _kifu _paper.

'Waya, you're right...for once,' Morishita sighed. 'This guy really is like Shuusaku having learned modern _joseki_. This is talent that really should belong among the pros, not on the Internet. Hey, Shindo, why hasn't this friend of yours joined the pros yet?'

'_Dakara_, Morishita _sensei,_ his condition didn't allow him to play!' Hikaru yelled at him. 'Didn't we tell you just now?'

'Oh fine, fine. Fujiwara, if you ever want to go pro, I'll sponsor you!' Morishita offered.

'Thank you, Morishita sensei, I'll bear that in mind,' Sai replied, bowing as he got up. 'I'm sorry, but I may have an acquaintance coming over right now.'

'Oh, you're leaving already? It's this late?' Waya sullenly asked as both pairs of teacher and student got up. 'I'll see you out.'

'Don't worry, I'll be fine. It was enjoyable to play with you again, _zelda_ Kun,' Sai playfully said as the group walked to the door.

Waya gulped. 'Y-You...'

'Of course I know you,' Sai added as the two left. 'You're why I started Net Go.'

And Waya could only stare in confusion as the pair of them got into a strange car waiting for them outside Morishita's house and left.

* * *

'Of all the things you drive in, why on earth a _Jeep_?' Hikaru almost yelled at the driver.

'Shut up,' Chiaki growled as he gunned the old post-Korean War Jeep through the relatively peaceful traffic of Tokyo at five or so in the afternoon. 'This is perfectly good for Abe here. I could run into twenty cars with it and still continue driving without a single scratch.'

'PIGEON!' Sai screamed as the Jeep gunned its way through.

'Well, who told the bird to stand on the road?' Seimei, riding shotgun, commented. 'Chiaki, go faster.'

'_Speed_ _demon!'_ Hikaru yelled, clinging onto the car seat for dear life.

'Thank you,' Seimei replied happily. 'Is that a phone ringing?'

Indeed, it was Hikaru's phone ringing. Hikaru decided to change the specially allocated tone that indicated that the caller was Touya. As if he wanted to hear what sounded like partially laryngitic cats being dipped in boiling oil every time Touya called. Why on earth had he chosen that particular song...

'_Moshi moshi?' _Hikaru managed to say into the phone.

'Shindo, where are you?' Akira quietly asked.

Hikaru internally gulped. When Akira took that voice, it meant that his rival was in for hell. 'Er...I'm in a friend's Jeep...TREE!'

'What? Anyway, Shindo, you're late for our game,' Akira continued as if Hikaru hadn't almost run into a tree due to two speed demons driving the car which he was currently in.

'Aw, come _on_! I'm only five minutes late! And that was 'cause Sai had a game with Morishita _sensei!'_ Hikaru complained, still somewhat fearing for his life as the driver held the clutch in a way that seemed very threatening...

'Sai? Shindo, I forgot to say this, but my father is here and he wants to meet Sai.' Akira continued at the Touyas' Go salon. 'Are you coming over right now...?'

Hikaru was just about to reply yes when a long-fingered hand appeared before him, motioning for the phone. Hikaru looked up to see that the hand was Seimei's. Quietly, he handed the phone over to the other man from the Heian era.

'Good day, Touya San,' Seimei cheerfully said into the phone. 'No, Fujiwara San is not on his way to your Go salon, but would you mind putting Touya _sensei_ on the phone? I have something to say to him.'

While speaking, Seimei raised a finger with his other hand and pressed it to his lips. Hikaru got the message.

'Touya Koyo _sensei?_ Ah, good day, I am Abe Seimei, one of Sai's caretakers. Would you care to meet Sai at a certain place today? No, it's not too far from your current position...'

As Seimei continued to give Touya senior directions to a certain game salon, Hikaru could only stare in wonder. He was just about to talk when suddenly, it was like he'd lost his voice, and he could hardly make a sound.

'Well, excellent! See you then.' As Seimei hung up, Hikaru found that he was able to talk again.

'What was that, you...?'

'Calm down, child. You will get your game,' Seimei sighed. 'Fujiwara San, do you remember what I said about you not being the only exception?'

'Eh?' Sai nodded. 'Yes, Seimei Sama. But we are the only ones...'

'I said that we were the only ones from the Heian era. I never said that no other era's players have forgotten their love of Go and passed on,' Seimei snapped. 'There are four...no, three, now that Hattori has passed on, players from the Edo era. They were all looking forward to seeing the power of one of their own.'

'Huh? You mean like that ghost Sai was playing...?' Hikaru almost squeaked.

'Something like that.' Seimei cheerfully replied. 'They're all pretty strong. I think even Fujiwara San would have a hard time against them.'

'Guys who can match up against Sai?' Hikaru asked blankly. 'What kind of monsters are those?'

Sai would have chastised his student if it wasn't that the two at the front of the car laughed out loud. 'How...very accurate,' Chiaki finished lamely as the driver tried to contain his laughter, ignoring Hikaru's cries of 'CAR!'

'Yes, I think it's quite accurate to categorise them as monsters,' Seimei giggled. 'They are strong at the game, backed by almost centuries of playing Go, and a deep love for it. In fact, their love for the game is such that I had problems exorcising them.'

'So who are they?' Sai asked, confused. 'What should I do?'

'The place we're going to is co-owned by the three of them,' Seimei chuckled. 'They belong to the house of Honinbo, and lived around the time of Shuusaku. That should be quite obvious, right? And for that question...why, you are going to exorcise them.'

* * *

_**There are quite a few famous Honinbo players who lived around this time. Who I**_**_have in mind is related to Shuusaku._**

_**Konnichiwa is Japanese for 'good afternoon'/ 'good day'**_

_**'Moshi moshi' means 'hello hello' this is used only in phone conversations [sort of, I don't know].**_

**_'Yatta!' is the Japanese version of 'Yay!'_**

_**'Arimasen' is another way of resigning. It means 'no more' or 'I can't take any more'. Something like that.  
**_

_**Joseki is a set pattern of moves in Go. **_

_**You can read up Shuusaku yourself on the Net. **_

_**The next chapter, we meet the three people Sai is supposed to exorcise ...and we see how Hikaru manages to tell the Touya pair about Sai. **_

_**Please read and review!**_


	13. Chapter 13: Interlude: The 3 Kamaitachi

_**I will write this according to what I want, not what you people say. However, I will occasionally ask for guidance. .

* * *

  
**_

_**Interlude: The Three Kamaitachi**_

Touya Koyo frowned as he looked at the Go salon's signboard: a good-quality classic affair that really didn't belong here right up a dark alley somewhere in Tokyo's older districts. His son Akira stood beside him, giving the store a once-over.

'It looks...well-established,' Akira commented, trying and failing to come up with any description that didn't involve the word 'ancient history' or any synonym of aforementioned phrase. Touya senior grunted and pushed the weathered heavy wood door in, stepping into the Go salon, Shades of Grey.

The predominant theme of the place seemed to be the different shades of grey. Indistinct shadows played out across the wood flooring, and the furniture itself seemed to have an indistinct colour of either black or white in one extreme of the room, the contrast uniting in the centre where there stood a single circular table, with a place where one person could sit in the middle. Segments of this table had been carved out and placed such that the original circular shape remained, but with a hollow wide enough to seat three men shoulder to shoulder without any difficulty.

'Welcome,' a voice called from the relative gloom of the circular table, which was really bigger than what Touya senior had first thought. 'Would you like to play a game?'

The person at the counter appeared, as if a spotlight had suddenly shined on him. The only thing that stood out about him what that there was nothing very remarkable about the thirty-or-so man, dressed in casual clothing befitting the modern age.

'No, thank you, I am here to wait for someone,' Koyo replied, moving towards him. Akira followed.

'Oh, I'm so sorry, please, forgive my manners, there has been hardly anyone here for such a long time,' the person replied. 'Please, have a seat.'

Barely had Akira, seated in a grey matte steel chair studied the place and summed it up into a judgement of 'nothing out of the ordinary' when a steaming cup of light green tea had materialised before the two Touyas. 'Please, take this refreshment. Don't worry, it's on the house. We hadn't had anyone come here for quite some time.'

Akira wondered why. It really was warm in here; he could barely feel the autumn winds in the place. It had an interesting decorating scheme, and there were several games for people to play, he noted. The _goban _next to his father was a really interesting study; Akira had never seen one so delicate.

The person had noticed his glance. 'Do you play Go?' he asked, the ordinary brown eyes taking on a whole new aspect. The older Touya knew those eyes; the eyes of a Go player.

'Yes, I'm a professional 5-dan,' Akira replied, internally wondering why had this person never heard of Touya Meijin, if not him. Surely he read _Go Weekly_, right?

'Oh? Would you care to play a game with me?' the man happily asked, grabbing the delicate _goban_ and bringing out a pair of _goke_ made of black lacquered wood. A second later, two analogue timers joined the _goke_.

Akira felt his eyebrows rise.

'Come, let us play a game, while the pair of you wait for this friend,' the man requested, pulling out black stones from his _goke_ while setting the other in front of Akira in challenge. Akira took it. 'I'll play White,' he heard himself say.

* * *

Touya Koyo sat there, sipping his hot tea as he watched the nameless man of Shades of Grey play speed Go with his son. Silently, he studied the man. Everything was quite unremarkable about him except for those eyes, those eyes shining with determination and a love for the game...

Then he studied the board and noted that his son was losing. How...interesting.

Touya Akira seemed to be equally stunned as he continued to play ten-second-hand Go with the host, and the nameless man seemed to not only match him hand for hand, but also somehow predict ahead of him. Those moves were like water, fluid yet able to change the direction of the game at any given moment to the player's victory. _This is no ordinary player; this is someone with long years of practice and promise to begin with. This is not Sai, but...this is no ordinary player. That opening at the star points, the _sabaki_ employed at the hand just now...this is unnerving. I felt like I just got tripped up..._

'_Arimasen,_' he choked, watching as his opponent freeze uncertainly, wide-eyed..._and he's enjoying this._

'Hold on, please, I want to call my brother,' he said to Akira, who just stared dumbly at him as the nameless man jumped up and yelled to the back of the store: '_Nii San!_ There's a strong player here!'

'What the heck...can't you deal with him yourself, Shuei?' a deep voice grumbled, and out of the shadows of the back stepped a samurai. There was no other word to describe the proud way he carried himself, or the strong aura of force he gave out, or the fact that he, unlike his brother, stood out, but he would never be mistaken as a powerful leader. 'I told you to deal with it, you have the strength to deal with pretty much anyone here...see, you won.'

'Nii San, he's a good player!' the man now known as Shuei exclaimed. 'You should play with him! It'll be a good challenge for you! Unless you're _scared,_ Shuho.'

'Erm...' Akira wondered if the pair of them had even considered asking him for his opinion when the samurai, Shuho, swept the black stones off into his _goke_, and pushed the white stones to him. Thankfully, he had already memorised the game, but it still did not excuse the way which the _goke _ containing the white stones were set in front of him.

'_Nigiri?_' Shuho offered.

'No thanks,' Akira replied.

'Your loss,' he nodded, expertly holding a black stone between his index and middle fingers. _Pachi_.

* * *

'Pro? This is a pro, yes. 4_-dan?_ Very appropriate rank. Maybe in...three years you'll reach 9_-dan. _You have potential, but...' Shuho waved his hand. 'What's the words?'

_'Makemashita,'_ Akiragasped, horrified at the strength of the player he had just faced. It was like Sai all over again; the horrifying realisation of being crushed. In speed Go. Touya Koyo looked interestedly at the _goban_. This man, Shuho, could have played in a manner rivalling the Go Saints themselves. If the game Shuei played was water, then this was earth, strong and immovable, a force that could have literally moved mountains. Although speed Go was in no way a good indicator of skill in Go, Koyo could tell that this was indeed a very strong player.

'We should let Wa _sensei_ play him, right?' Shuei asked his brother. '_Sensei_ would be so excited to play such a strong player!'

'Ei, do you really want to expose such a promising young player to that old man?' Shuho almost gasped. 'He'll be crushed like nothing.'

'I will play with your _sensei,'_ Koyo stated, with all the certainty he could muster. The pair looked at him and nodded, before turning with a simultaneous call: _'Sensei!'_

* * *

The old man, who introduced himself as Shuwa, now faced Touya Koyo in a match. So far, Touya senior could tell that his current opponent, while not fluid like his student Shuei, or immovable like disciple Shuho, was a power all on his own. The Go played spoke of years or experience, ages of practice and study, the two old men needing to consider fully the implications of each and every move played. Finally the old man sat back and whispered: '_Makemashita_.'

Touya senior stood up and bowed. Indeed, they had been strong, very strong...it was a pity, almost, that they were all over the age limit. The old man Shuwa still had the fire of life burning deep within him, that fire turned fully against the ex_-Meijin_ who had to struggle and place his stones carefully to avoid being burnt. Even with the new _Komi_ of six and a half _moku_, Koyo could tell that this would end in a draw. It was only providence that Shuwa had resigned.

'Water, earth, fire...all that is missing is the wind,' he murmured, remembering the four Hellenic elements.

As he spoke, he felt the chill of the autumn wind play against his neck, and as he turned, he could see the young man he had seen at the Go Institute, the young man who had won against Kurata 8-dan, who had wowed the Internet's strongest...and who had beaten him, Touya Koyo. His rival, he could tell.

_The wind._

_The Ghost._

_Sai._

_**

* * *

**_

_**I hope this is acceptable. I have to take a short break now while I figure out what to do from here. **_

_**Sabaki refers to development of a flexible, efficient position that is difficult for the opponent to attack, often by means of contact plays and sacrifice tactics. **_

_**Shades of Grey is a fictional salon. I do not claim that it is real. Any relation to an actual establishment by the same name is pure coincidence. **_

_**A Kamaitachi [sickle weasel] is a Japanese youkai, the most common conception being a trio of weasels with sharp claws, riding on the wind, cutting people up. The first knocks the unsuspecting victim down, the second cuts them, and the third applies medicine to the wounds.**_

_**Honinbo Shuei, the one no one suspected would become Meijin.**_

_**Honinbo Shuho, the student of the Honinbo who was forgotten in favour of his fellow student.**_

_**Honinbo Shuwa, the teacher eclipsed by his brilliant student. **_

_**They all have one thing in common:**_

_**They are overshadowed by one person;**_

_**Honinbo Shuusaku.**_

_**Please read and review!**_


	14. Chapter 14:The Truth and the Fox

_**In the Western point of view, the four elements that the ancients believed made up the world is fire, earth, water and air. This is the Hellenic point of view, which originated in Greece somewhere around...c. 2800 BCE? Either way, sometime in ancient Greece. **_

_**The Eastern belief is that the world consists of five elements, fire, water, earth, wood, metal. Air wasn't much of an issue to them. **_

_**Anyway, the Western view was more well-known and easier to interpret than the Eastern one [can you imagine trying to find five lesser known Go players who fit the requirements?] so in this case I used it. **_

_**Okay, so, in this chapter we'll attempt to tell the Touya father and son that Sai is actually a ghost and provide conclusive proof that the supernatural exists and somehow without them accusing Sai and Hikaru of going nuts, so to speak.**_

_**DYquem has been so supportive! I almost love the guy. People seem to love the mix of supernatural and Go, I don't know why, but it's frankly...entertaining.**_

_**I don't own HikaGo. This is non-commercial, non-profit fiction.

* * *

  
**_

_**The Truth Behind the Fox**_

_No matter how far they were, how long time passes, or how great the distance separating them, if they are truly fated rivals, they will meet again someday._

For a moment, Touya Koyo almost wondered if this wraith-like young individual was truly the Ghost of Net Go. This was followed by an almost immediate self-chastisement that ability in Go was not necessarily related to how long one has lived, nor was experience limited to age. Still... was this individual truly _Sai,_ that was the important question.

Touya senior's eyes flickered, studying the player that was such like the wind; unable to be seen, to be caught, and somehow always ahead no matter how fast one tried to catch up. True, on a closer look, the eyes were those of determined warriors setting out on to battle, of lone warriors facing down another to protect their pride, so incongruously ancient on such youthful features. The hand carrying the fan also bore the marks of having handled stones for several years, the calluses those of an experienced player not apparent to those who only took a cursory look.

'It is an honour to face you again, Touya _sensei,'_ Sai murmured to him, and it was as if the two rivals were the only ones there.

'It is the first time we have actually met face to face,' the older Touya replied gravely. 'The only game we have ever played was carried out through... an intermediary. Have a seat.'

'Indeed. Ah, thank you,' Sai gushed as he accepted a cup of what looked to be steaming hot tea. Beside him, Hikaru took another seat, where he was entertained with a mug of what strangely looked to be a sort of hot chocolate. Did they serve that to him because it was appreciated or because Shindo looked so much like a frozen child, the old man didn't know, but it apparently had the intended effect; Shindo gulped it greedily down, leaving the two rivals in silence.

'I lost in that game,' the older Touya stated.

'Yes, you did. It apparently did wonders for you,' Sai commented. 'You had had not a single heart attack since two years ago.' The bite, although sarcastic, had a point.

'That one loss has allowed me to re-evaluate my self,' Touya Koyo replied unashamedly. 'It was exceedingly painful, but with only positive net results. On hindsight, perhaps I should have retired earlier.'

'Is that so? You still have quite a long road ahead of you,' the young man commented with the aura of a master, not of someone in his twenties.

'Yes. I have advanced since that match two years ago,' Touya Koyo replied. 'I would like to match against you again, in a true match on the _goban_. Before that, I want to know something.'

'Oh?' The young man's lips curled into a small smile as the fingers idly played with one of the long locks hanging over his shoulder. 'What insight do you wish to receive?'

'I want to know your name,' he stated. _The name of my rival._

'My name is Sai,' the young man replied. 'Fujiwara Sai.'

_Fujiwara no Sai._

_One of those closest to the Hand of God._

_My rival.

* * *

_

'Thank you for the cup... Hayashi Shuei?' Hikaru could hear his teacher gasp. 'Is that you?'

'Do I know you?' Shuei asked blankly, but Sai was no longer listening, his gaze travelling around.

'Shuho, you're here too!' Sai exclaimed in surprise. The samurai looked at him in an expression that indicated calm surprise at having been recognised by a stranger. 'Is Shuwa _sensei_ here? Is Honinbo Shuwa here too?'

_Honinbo_? The two Touyas thought. _Their surname is Honinbo? _It would have been insulting if they hadn't seen the three's Go skills. Truly, they were deserving of the name.

'Ah, perhaps it is time for a introduction,' a familiar drawl came to Koyo's ears. He recognised that voice as the one that had directed him here. 'Shuei, Shuho, Shuwa, this is Fujiwara Sai. He's significantly...more experienced in your ... current situation and he was...around your student, Shuusaku, during...that time.'

_Shuusaku?_ 'You had a student by the name of Honinbo Shuusaku?' Akira managed to speak out in disbelief.

'Shindo Kun never told you about him and Sai?' Seimei's eyes widened. 'He never told you about his teacher? Ah, I see, Shindo Kun must have thought himself schizophrenic or insane.' Seimei tapped his fan against his other palm as if that solved everything. 'Perhaps we should start with Shindo Kun. Shindo Kun, please tell them everything.'

Hikaru was just about to protest when said protest died under the intense scrutiny of the father and son. Both wanted to know and weren't about to let him off until they knew.

Curiosity is a powerful thing. It had spurred man on to great things, in the quest to find out more and more about why things happen. It is on this quest of knowledge that civilisation, science and the arts have sprung forth. What we have today was inherited from previous civilisations, which had come about as a by-product of fulfilling the human curiosity. It is a wonderful thing.

It kept Touya Akira from strangling his rival for not telling them earlier.

* * *

'This is going to sound insane...' Hikaru grumbled as he tried to start. 'Erm...about five years ago, I was in the attic of my grandfather's house with a childhood friend, looking for things to fence off in order to supplement my cut-off allowance. I found an old _goban_ there. That _goban _was covered in what looked like bloodstains. I asked my friend if she could see the stains, but she couldn't see them; it was as if only I could. Then, I heard a voice, calling out to me...'

Such was the power of Hikaru's tale that even the speaker himself was drawn into the spell of his past:

"**Should you really do that?" a high feminine voice questioned.**

"**It's fine, my allowance got cut off because I scored an 8% on that last test," he heard himself reply.**

"**Man, this stain isn't coming off...' he said, rubbing it.**

"**What stain? It's clean."**

"**Huh! It's dirty!"**

"**Where?"**

"**Here," he said, pointing.**

"**Where...?"**

"**I said, here! Here, these look like spots of blood."**

**That was when Sai came...**

_**Can you see it?**_

"**That's what I've been saying..."**

_**Can you hear my voice?**_

"**Huh?"**

_**You can hear my voice, can't you?**_

"**I don't see it..." the girl was saying, but already he wasn't listening.**

"**Akari, someone is here. Who is it?" he had asked, plucking up his courage. "Grandpa, come out!"**

"**Stop it! Stop saying weird things. I'm leaving, Hikaru."**

_**You can.**_

_**You can.**_

_**All-powerful Kami Sama, I thank you...**_

**And Sai had appeared, covered in a white shroud...**

_**I will now return...**_

_**Return...to the living world...**_

'And then that was how I met Sai for the first time,' Hikaru said, ploughing on with his story. No one spoke, they were all waiting for him to continue.

'Sai was ghost from the Heian era,' Hikaru spoke, wondering if this was proof that he was insane. 'He taught Go to the Emperor during the time he was...alive.' Despite proof to the contrary that Sai is alive and that there was no proof that Sai had died, Hikaru continued on anyway. 'At that time, there was another tutor to the emperor. One day, the other tutor told the emperor that there was no need for two tutors, so the emperor decided that there would be a match between the two, where the victor would remain, and the loser would go.

During the match, Sai saw his opponent take one of the other coloured stones from the opposite _goke _and drop that stone among the captured stones.' Hikaru could just hear Akira gasp at such cheating. 'When Sai was about to raise the question, the opponent accused _him_ of cheating.' Hikaru, although not knowing much then, could now properly scorn the other man for cheating and accusing Sai.

'The emperor declared the match continue anyway. Sai, troubled by this, could not concentrate and lost the game. Having lost the game, and being branded a cheater, he was driven out of the city. Unable to play the game he loved, branded a cheat and a liar, he drowned himself in the river two days later.'

The older man looked at Sai, who seemed to be able to take the regaling of his past calmly, although the way the man gripped the cup spoke his true emotional state.

'The point is, I was then stuck with a Go- obsessed ghost who just couldn't leave me alone. I had to challenge my grandpa, but then my completely not knowing how to play Go made it such that I had to take Go classes, which I got thrown out of for disrupting the peace.'

Akira didn't bother to hide a very quiet mental snicker.

'Then after being thrown out, I came to a Go salon, where I played who I _initially_ thought was someone of my ability, seeing as he was about my age,' Hikaru continued, grinning at Akira. 'Sai dictated the coordinates to me, I placed the stones. In about three hours, I think it was over, right, Touya?'

Akira had simply froze at that declaration. So the first game he thought Shindo had played was actually against Sai. Sai had played _Shidougo_ against him, and had crushed him. The older Touya's face was unreadable.

In this way, Hikaru regaled whatever facts he could remember to give the story enough flesh and to cover some of the facts, taking them through a journey of time, through two years of his first in the tournament, losing against Touya, being an _insei_, to the pro exam, through to the fateful game... _Sai_ versus _Touya_ _Koyo_.

And, finally, Sai's disappearance.

'Erm, Shindo, you do realise that your teacher, Sai is right here, right?' Akira asked his rival in the voice that all but yelled out loud _calm down while I get the straitjacket_. 'So how do you explain Sai's disappearance and the fact that he's right here? Your story, though _theoretically_ possible, and would certainly explain your fluctuating Go skill, is simply impossible...' Akira's voice trailed off as he noticed Sai reaching out a hand to him. His eyes widened further as that very hand touched his nose, then, somehow, seemingly, pass _through_ it...

* * *

Touya Koyo had frozen in the way only statues should be able to do as he saw Sai's hand pass through his son's face. It was as if...Sai was a ghost.

_What would that mean?_ He wondered privately. _That the rival I was chasing is a ghost? That the story Shindo had just told us was true? Or...that only a thousand-year old Go master could match me?_

The hand came out of the face. 'I'm sorry about that,' Sai apologised, 'but there was no other way to prove the story.'

_Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. _And much as it is improbable, it is still the truth.

'You're...a ghost,' Touya was still staring in disbelief, slowly caressing his face where Sai's hand had passed through it. 'You're really a thousand years old. You taught Shindo Go.'

'Yes.'

'So...how did you return? Why did you return?' Akira struggled to comprehend the impossible situation.

'I was allowed to come back,' was Sai's reply. 'To come back for him.'

And those amethyst eyes met the hard, cold flint, as Sai continued to speak. 'To return for the Divine Move. For my rival.'

And as those eyes met, silently, subconsciously, they acknowledged each other. Even across the boundaries of death, they were still connected by a love for the game they played. Still connected for the desire to play the perfect game... for the Hand of God.

* * *

'Okay, let's assume that Shindo is correct...for _once,'_ Akira caught himself, 'and say that you're really a Go master that committed suicide a thousand years ago, and then haunted Shindo for about two years, them disappeared, only to come back with a body,' he continued, ignoring Hikaru's protest. 'So, may I ask you how does Shuusaku fit into all this?'

'Shuusaku?' the three owners of the Go salon, the older Touya and Sai echoed.

'Your playing style,' Akira confirmed. 'you playing style is so much like Shuusaku's.' _So much that people call you the Shuusaku reincarnated,_ he added.

It was Hikaru who answered that. 'Sai haunted another person before me during the Edo era. That person's name was Kuwabara Torajiro. Torajiro, having seen Sai's skill, let him play all the games. Later, Torajiro changed his name to Shuusaku and entered the Honinbo house.'

Akira gawked at him. 'You're saying,' he managed beyond his shock, 'that Sai is actually...Honinbo Shuusaku? The Edo era's greatest player? Supposedly the greatest in the history of Go?' _And not just on the Net?_

'You really shouldn't say it like that,' Seimei commented. 'There are other great players around during the Edo era too, you know.'

Akira ignored him, while the three owners of Shades of Grey looked at Sai. 'So, you're Shuusaku's ghost, huh?' Shuho asked. 'What happened to him?'

'He's in a good place,' Seimei replied. 'Almost anywhere is better than where you are, right?'

'And these players are...?' Akira shot a dirty look at Hikaru, who shrugged.

'Shuei is actually Honinbo Shuei, former head of the now defunct Hayashi house, seventeenth and nineteenth _Honinbo_ previously, also formerly _Meijin _during the Edo era,' Seimei recited. 'Shuho is Honinbo Shuho, eighteenth Honinbo, second strongest disciple of the then _Honinbo_ after Shuusaku. This,' he motioned to the old man, 'is Honinbo Shuwa, the fourteenth _Honinbo.'_

Somehow, Akira found this slightly easier to accept, the fact that he'd been thrashed by some of the strongest players during the Edo era than the fact that he'd been thrashed by ghosts. 'But..aren't you dead?' he managed to say past his disbelief.

He was answered when Shuei stepped out to face him, standing in the lighter part of the salon. Akira frowned as he looked at Shuei, who only looked down to the ground. As Akira's gaze followed, he noted one thing, that while the shadows on the ground played out in varying degrees of grey and black, there was no distinct black shape where Shuei was defined.

Shuei had no shadow.

'I think that answers his questions,' both the former _Meijin_ stated. _No wonder my son had lost; unexpectedly facing some of the Edo era's strongest, who would have a chance?_ The older Touya thought.

But..._I've won against Honinbo Shuwa,_ he realised. _And I'm chasing Honinbo Shuusaku. I'm chasing after the invincible Shuusaku._

On any other day, he would have dismissed the thought as a regular daydream that should belong to a child.

Now, he wondered, exactly how would he match against Shuusaku. That thought brought a smile to his face. It was not everyday that you realise your rival as the power behind one of Japanese Go's legends, and he wanted to savour the moment.

* * *

'It is time for you to go, you know,' Seimei gently told the three.

'Is that so? Well, then let him try,' Shuwa laughed, a sound that made even the older Touya start. 'Tell him how.'

'Each ghost had something that holds them down to this world,' Seimei lectured the other man from the Heian era. 'Exorcism can be tricky because as long as they are tied to this world by that link, the most we can do is to put them to sleep for a while. In your case, your near-obsession for Go linked you to the _goban _for a long time. But that is a bit irrelevant now. In this case, you must play Shuwa and Shuho, the first to prove whether the student is really better than the teacher, the second to prove who is the stronger, Shuusaku or Shuho. As for Shuei...he needs to learn confidence in his own game.'

'Confidence?' the younger pros asked.

'Shuei is a strong player, such that many believe him to be talent surpassing even Shuusaku,' Seimei spoke. 'The only flaw is that he has believed that he showed no promise at Go. It was partly because of this that he was adopted by the Hayashi house. However, this was really a case of the underdog coming out on top, for Shuei managed to claw his way to become one of the few _Meijin_ of the Edo era. He needs to learn confidence, and perhaps...one of you would know how to teach him that.'

'Do you start now?' Sai asked doubtfully. 'It's quite late already...'

Startled, Akira realised that it was already seven, the salon's dimness only further proof of the sun having set. 'O Tou San,' he asked.

Touya senior nodded. 'I know. Akira, tell your mother I will not be home early. I have met an old friend I want to catch up on.' Akira nodded, moving out of the place, and apparently making the effort to place as much a distance between the place and him in the shortest time possible. Hikaru and Shuei disappeared after him.

'I believe you,' the older man told Sai. 'I believe your story. But...may I ask you a question?'

'Yes?'

'Was it necessary to do that to my son?'

'It was the fastest way to get proof,' Sai defended himself.

'I...see.' Touya frowned. 'Can you hold the stones?'

'Yes...?'

'And can you play with your full strength?'

'Certainly, why?' Sai was suspicious.

'In that case, I would not care about anything else,' Touya senior replied. 'About your friend, Seimei...'

'He is Abe no Seimei, just like I am Sai of the Fujiwara.' Sai confirmed.

Behind him, Seimei snickered loudly, meriting a punch on the head from Chiaki.

* * *

'I actually won that game,' Touya senior breathed, accepting a third cup of green tea over the empty _bento_ box that had contained his dinner from Shuwa. 'I never expected to challenge Honinbo Shuwa and win. Or chase after Honinbo Shuusaku either.' For once in a very long time, his player's instinct was satisfied that he had challenged such strong players.

'Well, Fujiwara,' Shuwa chuckled, 'don't play against us just yet. I want to see Shuei and the others pass on before us first.'

'There are more ghosts?' Koyo asked, somewhat surprised.

'Yes, the Go world is thoroughly populated by the ghosts of the past,' Shuwa said. 'Some of us, like me, co-own Go salons. Some of us own antique shops, or probably eateries, or in one case, a book store. In my case, I spend six months in here, six months in Kyoto, because I need to go on a pilgrimage.'

'How many more?' Koyo could hear himself say. He was already wondering why had such skilled players escaped the scrutiny of time. The he remembered that they were ghosts.

Shuwa laughed at that. 'You want to challenge them? Touya San, I appreciate your love for Go, but these ghosts aren't that easy to find, or that easy to defeat. They have more years of experience than you've lived. Are you sure?'

'Yes,' Sai replied on his behalf. 'I too want to play against stronger opponents. In order to face the strength of the future, we must first defeat the past.'

'Those who remain static will fade, is it?' Shuwa quietly murmured. 'I don't know where they are, but Seimei here knows the location of all the ghosts, right?'

'In..._hic._..deed,' Seimei hiccuped, slightly drunk from the _sake._ 'It is quite easy, not many meet the requirements to persuade the gods to allow them to return. Even less have mortals who know them.' he winked at the older Touya.

'Where is Shuei?' Touya wondered as they continued to trade pleasant conversation.

'I think he followed your son out,' Seimei hiccuped, downing another cup after. 'I did tell Shuei that by playing him he could get confidence.'

Silence fell at that declaration, at which Chiaki immediately whacked Seimei. 'You _idiot!'_ he hissed at the self-proclaimed _onmyoji_.

'Akira is being followed by a ghost?' Koyo asked his rival.

'A harmless one, but it will be shocking for him...'Sai trailed off.

'Shocks are part of growing up,' Koyo replied, taking a deep drink of tea. Despite his health, he sometimes wished for some alcohol, but he loathed being drunk.

* * *

_**In the next chapter we see have an interlude to the story where the two young rivals, Akira and Hikaru, have to exorcise a ghost that's haunting Touya...the situation has changed...I'm evil, aren't I?**_

_**Please read and review!  
**_


	15. Chapter 15:The Present and The Past

_**Like I said, I don't really care much what you people want to read... I will simply consider them. **_

_**This is my story! **_

_**The story, Hikaru no Go, is not owned by me. **_

**_This fanfic is._**

_**

* * *

**_

_**The Past and the Future**_

Touya Akira didn't care how he managed it, or even if it was against the laws of physics that a human could move that fast, or maybe it was just him and his horrible physical fitness that his rival had managed to catch up as he hot-footed it right out of Shades of Grey without so much as looking back.

'Hey, Touya, what's wrong?' his rival jogged beside him, saying. What he really that slow? _Am I really so slow that Shindo could keep up with me by jogging? _

'Okay, so maybe the hand passing into your face was a bit...unexpected,' Hikaru continued, very obviously trying to be tactful.

Tact and Shindo Hikaru have obviously never made anything more than a passing acquaintance.

'Shindo, shut up,' he heard himself growl. _Was that really me? _'I've just realised that the first game I played with someone who could conceivably be better at Go at my age was actually the ghost of a thousand-year Go master who apparently played for Shuusaku as well. I've just had said ghost passing his hand through my _face_. And Shindo, let me tell you that that feeling is really much like drowning, and it's not very pleasant. In fact, I'll probably need a paradigm shift in order to accept all this in so short a time! I think I'm going nuts...'

'I think you're already coping very well,' a bright masculine voice that was too bright to possibly be Hikaru's answered. The two pros probably jumped about a foot to get away from the source of it, Shuei.

'Jeez, would it kill you to at least give some warning? You almost scared me to death!' Hikaru complained, meriting a slap on the head by Akira, who was a stickler for good behaviour.

'Ah, Shuei San...' Akira was now faced with the dilemma of attempting to phrase a hopefully polite question to a ghost.

'Touya Kun, Seimei told me to pass this to you,' the ghost produced a manilla envelope Akira recognised as the envelope containing the forms for the match between Shimano and Sai. Frankly, Akira could already guess the winner.

'And, well, somehow I ended up attached to Touya Kun here for the time being...' Shuei sheepishly said, scratching his head.

A normal person could not simply freeze, like the blood in his veins had suddenly frozen over or something.

Nobody had ever told Touya Akira this. 'You're _stuck_ with me?' he almost shouted, aghast.

'Somehow, yes...' Shuei looked so pathetic that the two pros felt sorry for him.

'Hey, look on the bright side; you have a former _Meijin _withyou!' Shindo was obviously being tactful. The look Akira gave him could have withered plants and killed small animals on the spot.

'Well, actually I'll be stuck until you manage to exorcise me...' the small voice of the Go master could be heard.

'So how do we go about that?' Akira gritted his teeth, pulling Shindo along on the way to avoid the weird looks they were being to get from passers-by. 'Much as I would like to learn from you...' Akira was no fool, and every bit the eager student, waiting to learn from a player who had gained a place in the Go halls of fame, just a bit unnerved at realising that a _ghost_ was now haunting him. 'I would dearly love some semblance of privacy. Can anyone actually _see_ you?'

'Only those who have entered the shop before can,' Shuei replied. 'And as I stray further from the shop, the more I lose solidity, apparently. The only exception is in the spring, luckily.'

'Why the spring?' Hikaru asked, puzzled.

'Erm...it's like this, we switch places with a few other ghosts every half a year or so,' Shuei replied. 'So I spend the spring and summer in Kyoto, and autumn and winter in here. It's not too bad until we get settled to haunting one place for the next six months, then it's slightly boring.'

'Yeah, sounds a lot like you have no life,' Hikaru grumbled.

'Shindo, please mind your manners a bit, will you? You make all Go players look bad,' Touya shot back.

'No, I make them look trendy,' the rival shot back, meriting a laugh from the ghost, who was steadily becoming more translucent.

'You know, you two remind me of the two _Kisei,'_ Shuei commented.

_'Kisei?_ I thought the _Kisei_ was a title?' Hikaru asked, confused.

'The other two _Kisei_ of the Edo era, _Honinbo_ Dosaku and Jowa,' Shuei corrected. 'Dosaku was an unmatched player during his time, such that his closest rival had to place two handicap stones in order to even have half a chance to win. Jowa was a player so strong that in one case, his opponent vomited blood and died after having been defeated. Dosaku made a wish to at least find his rival, while Jowa made his wish to play someone who wouldn't die after the game. And then they met each other as ghosts... and I think it's quite similar to your rivalry now.'

Akira didn't know what to say; I mean, realising that the two legendary Go Sages had about the same childish rivalry as them would have that sort of effect. Hikaru was now wondering what one could do with such insider knowledge...oh wait, nobody would believe him anyway.

'It's almost always dangerous to walk into the same room where they're playing,' Shuei continued, oblivious to the boys' stunned looks. 'They'd start peacefully, then they'd yell at each other at pretty regular hourly intervals, and then once it gets violent enough things start flying at each other, and that's just in mid-game. If any game of theirs ever reached end-game, Jowa would start another fight, and then it all goes to hell in a hurry...'

'I think that is more than what we wanted to know,' Akira interrupted, frowning at the disconcerting likeness to Hikaru the Latter Sage, _Honinbo_ Jowa apparently bore. 'So Shindo would be Jowa, right?'

'Yes, and you would be Dosaku,' Shuei happily replied. 'He had about the same reaction as you when he realised that he had died and become a ghost, if Seimei's word is to be trusted...'

'Shindo, you've just been likened to the first Go player who managed to kill someone by Go,' Akira told him, but Hikaru had a thoughtful look on his face.

'Who won their first game?' came the question.

'Er...Jowa did. And then Dosaku was so happy that he had found his rival, that he just couldn't disappear, because of the wish Jowa made, so Fu... the _Kami_ took them under his wing, just as he did for us.'

'_Kami?_' _When did it turn to a theological discussion? _Akira wondered.

'_Kami Sama _allowed us back. Well, it was more like several _Kami_, but we mostly thank the one _Kami _that helped us to adapt to changing times,' Shuei sheepishly said. 'We owe that _Kami_ everything,' he continued with a wistful look on his face.

Akira blanched as a wave of sadness overcame him. _What's going on? Why do I have this sudden need to puke?_

'Touya!' Hikaru rushed to help and comfort his rival. 'You, stop that! Your emotions are overflowing to Touya!'

'Oh, I'm so sorry...' the sadness ebbed, but Akira could still feel some of it there as they moved down a mostly empty pavement. 'I just remembered someone...'

'Don't,' Akira managed weakly. 'Just tell me how to exorcise you or at least get you away from me so that I don't feel like puking.'

'You'll get used to it, Sai always had this emotional problem,' Hikaru told him. 'I used to puke all the time too.'

'Shindo, this is not helping me feel better!'

'Jeez, and I really tried too...'

'Next time, maybe you should leave the tact to people who really have a gift for it. I mean, what happened the last time you tried to comfort the opponent you beat?'

'It's not my fault he started crying! I mean, he's only a new _insei!_ And eight years old!'

'Precisely my point, Shindo. You may be more popular, but _tact_ doesn't seem to be part of that.'

'Is too! I can totally comfort people and everything!'

'Case in point number one: your childhood friend.'

'It's not my fault she started crying even more after she had some fight and came for guidance!'

'Case in point number two: Waya.'

'Still not my fault. I mean, come on, what do you expect me to say to someone who was dumped in a single date...?'

'Number three...' Akira was mentally tallying how many more cases he had to bring up before Shindo could accept the truth.

'Fine, fine. So what do we do now?'

* * *

It was finally decided, after two hours of first dinner at the Touya residence, then asking Touya Koyo about his conversation with Sai, who came back home muttering 'never again' and clutching his stomach that, judging from the screech of rubber on tar, was the fault of the two speed demons, and it was actually lucky how the older man didn't have a heart attack, that they would help Shuei find confidence. Obviously, it would be something like helping the Cowardly Lion find courage from the Wizard of Oz; rhetorical and stupid. For the first thing, even Akira had not the faintest idea what to do with an insecure ghost.

'Maybe we could start with why are you so insecure?' he suggested weakly. He really didn't want to puke out his favourite dishes all over the _goban._ For one thing, it would be all over the _goban_, which would be insulting. If not, then it would be on the Go study tatami flooring, which would be troublesome for his mother. Either way, it would just mean trouble.

'How do I start? Where do I start?' Shuei almost whined. 'Er...I was born the second son of Honinbo Shuwa, then fourteenth head of the Honinbo house. When I was young, I was given to the Hayashi house as I didn't seem to show any promise in Go...and then I actually did well, but Shuho- Nii always seemed to be better and Father doesn't seem to like me at all...and no matter what I did, no one seemed to like me...'

'Shuei San, perhaps you should calm down,' the older Touya interjected, watching his son attempt not to heave with a slightly concerned look. You had to know that that much feeling seen on his face meant that he was really concerned. 'It's perfectly all right. You succeeded where your father had failed. You became one of the _Meijin_, where your father couldn't. Many of today's strongest players admire your style...they all study your skill. It's just that you're holding back on yourself.'

Shuei ignored him. 'And then I met Honinbo Dosaku...' the ghost _Meijin_ looked like he was about to cry.

_Ah._ The Go players present could sort of realise what had happened when he met the Go Sage Dosaku. _It must've been a crushing defeat, _everyone living present thought as they watched the semi-transparent ghost

Akira finally managed to figure out what he wanted to ask. 'Shindo, that game Sai played that you showed me yesterday, was it with a ghost?'

Hikaru looked a bit blank. 'Yeah, it was by someone called Hattori, but I don't know any Go player by that name...'

'Hattori Rittetsu,' Shuei murmured in passing. 'Better known as Inoue Genan Inseki.'

'Inoue...' Touya Koyo could not believe his ears.

'Genan...' Neither could Akira.

'Inseki...' Hikaru echoed. 'Who's _that?'_

It was at one of these times that Akira _really_ wanted to strangle his rival for his ignorance of history, regardless of actually needing his rival around in their quest for the Divine Move. 'Inoue Genan Inseki was the one who played against Honinbo Shuusaku in the ear-reddening game,' he snapped. 'Shuusaku always called it his most difficult game.'

'He's _that_ good?' Hikaru's eyebrows rose.

Unfortunately at that moment Akira could feel that overwhelming sadness again. 'Stop that!' he tried to say, while not attempting to retch.

It almost seemed to have the opposite effect, but at least Akira didn't feel like retching. 'Maybe he should play against a title holder and win. I think that's enough confidence then.' Akira commented quietly.

It was at this moment that Hikaru had a brilliant idea associated with one other problem of his: Ogata Juudan, who would be sure to try to see Sai's game with Shimano the day after tomorrow and quite possibly challenge Sai to so many games, such that Hikaru couldn't play his _sensei._ Now, just to tell them...

'Hey, I have an idea...'

* * *

'Brilliant,' Akira coughed, still trying to stop retching. 'Get the Honinbo to play against the _Juudan.'_ Much as he was loath to admit, Akira had to agree that playing against the occasionally obnoxious Ogata Seiji would probably do a lot of good. Possibly even more if Shuei won.

'It is a good idea,' Touya senior agreed. 'Although I cannot help but think that you have an agenda behind this, Shindo Kun.'

'Sai's game with Shimano is at the very same time,' Hikaru explained, not wanting to lie to Touya Koyo. For one thing, it would just be rude. For another thing, the man at least deserved to know the truth. So Hikaru proceeded to tell the older Touya about Sai having entered an amateur competition...

'I take it that, at that time, without knowing how to find a way to play against me seriously, this method of my rival is to supposedly attract my attention,' Koyo concluded. 'And much as I would want my student to watch him, as is my wish too, I would also want to send another great player off to the afterlife. Even if it would mean the loss of talent and an integral part of history to the Go world...perhaps, one day, the genius of Honinbo Shuei would return to it.'

'So..you'll help us?' Hikaru couldn't help but ask.

'Indeed. Before that...Honinbo Shuei, I challenge you to a game.'

And those eyes, those alight eyes that love Go with every part of their being, shone in answer.

Akira could feel the intensity emanating from the two Go players. He wondered if Shindo ever felt like this, as he placed the Go stones for the ghost in the match against his father. Beside him, Shindo wrote down the game quickly, even though there was no time limit to this game.

There was a slight difference to this intensity. For one thing, Akira realised that Shuei now looked like what he always was; the Go player who had, in the cut-throat world of Go during the Edo era, clawed his way to become _Meijin_, the only acknowledged 9_-dan_ during that time. Touya Koyo was intense, in the way that spoke of him as the Go player who had won five titles and who still continued to play.

The challenged, White, played on 6-5. _Pachi._

Black answered. 7-3. _Pachi._

3-11.

4-11.

3-12.

4-12.

….

* * *

'White won with _Komi_,' Akira breathed, as his father resigned. 'One and a half _moku_.'

'I won? I did?' Shuei still looked confused.

'Whoa. I thought I'd almost get a heart attack,' Hikaru sighed as he wrote the final move. 'There, the game's all recorded. Do you want to review it?'

'I trust you, Shindo Kun,' those eyes were now directed at him. 'I won...'

'See? You can win even against someone like Touya _sensei_,' Hikaru insisted. Akira was just about to ask what did Shindo mean by that when he noticed that Shuei was almost crying, but...he didn't feel like vomiting any more. Quite the opposite; he couldn't feel anything other than his own feelings and that the temperature had suddenly plunged, and he couldn't hear anything else in the room except for a strange echo:

'_Finally..._

_To win against the one who defeated Shuwa...that was my wish... _

_my journey ends here...but yours will not..._

_Touya...Koyo..._

_Akira..._

_Thank you..._

With a final sigh, the ghost...had just faded.

'Well, who knew that he just needed to play against Touya _sensei_?' Hikaru broke the silence that hung over them. 'Now what do we do with our plan?'

* * *

The cool autumn wind blew through the apartment, as if a ghost had drawn a long sigh, a sigh of relief at having passed on, as a Kitsune smiled its silent, eerie, empty smile, and answered with a inaudible sigh at the significance of that night.

_Fushimi Inari, another of your ghosts have gone on, _that fox thought. _It seems as if you are right...the one who started this...will soon end this..._

_Fujiwara no Sai..._

_What you have started...Will be ended by your hand..._

_As will that of your rival...the two of you..._

_Perhaps...will finally find the never-ending road..._

_To the Divine Move...

* * *

_

_**I was feeling a bit silly writing this, so I hope you can forgive me!**_

_**Please read and review!**_


	16. Chapter 16:The Wandering Fox

_**I had received complaints about my lack of use of apostrophes in the previous chapters. Although frankly, I cannot see why anyone would complain, as I've read books which never use the inverted commas, I am willing to compromise a bit. Recently, I've gotten a new keyboard with an intact Shift key so inverted commas can be used again! So I'll try inverted commas for about five chapters before coming to a decision regarding the apostrophe-inverted comma debate. **_

_**Please review to give your views regarding this problem: Inverted Commas or Apostrophes?**_

_**I don't own HikaGo. Disclaimer placed.

* * *

**_

_**The Wandering Fox**_

"Have you notified Inari?" Seimei questioned as he watched Chiaki slump back into the room's only armchair.

"Yes, Fushimi Sama has been fully notified," Chiaki replied, tiredly rubbing his eyes. 'How is Fujiwara?'

"Net Go."

"I see. The match...is it really necessary?"

"Yes, it is," Seimei replied. "Once many know his name, he would find worthy challenges."

"But Touya Koyo..."

"Will remain his rival. The pair of them will fight for the Divine Move, before the world, and then...it will show itself. Isn't that so?" Seimei condescendingly explained.

"It has the advantage is simplicity," Chiaki acknowledged. "Do you think the young Touya will be all right? I had not the impression Sai was able to do _that."_

"Of course. Go players are resilient." Seimei replied cheerfully, nursing his head, where a bruise curiously shaped like the fingers of a hand made itself known. "Even death wouldn't hold some back, don't even talk about having a ghost pass his hand through his face. He'll be alright in no time."

* * *

In Net Go, _Sai_ had just started a chat with his new friend, _OldasSea. _Having just slapped his companion for withholding information that Sai had deemed relevant, such as the fact that he could now walk through most solid objects as if he were a ghost, a...souvenir from his previous life, or lives, had the strange effect of wanting to find another soul to pour out worries too, or play Go, as in crush the unlucky fellow until something happened. Hikaru wasn't around, neither was any decent opponent not on the supernatural side, so the conversation went something like this:

**You are not paying attention, **he'd typed to _OldasSea_.

Almost immediately, the reply came:

**Well, there's a match the day after tomorrow in Japan. I was wondering...will I see you there?**

Sai was quite thrown by that. The day after tomorrow...was that _his _match?

**Shimano versus a new player?**

The reply came quickly. Sometimes Sai liked this..._chat function_. People answered so _much_ faster than sending a messenger or by writing a letter.

**How did you know?**

For a moment, Sai wondered if perhaps he should tell his friend that he was playing in the game. He really wanted to meet this new friend or acquaintance...

Being the naturally trusting in the better side of people person he was, the answer was kind of obvious.

**I'm playing!

* * *

**

In a hotel room in Tokyo, Yang Hai was busy considering the implications of the information he had just received.

_Sai_ had admitted that he was playing against Shimano the day after tomorrow. Seeing as the sentence was quite simple, the 'I'm playing' could only mean that _Sai_ was really going to play against Shimano. Shimano didn't have a Net Go account, if the _Go Weekly _interview was anything to go by, and wasn't _Sai,_ as he'd freely admitted about five years back. Therefore, common sense dictated that _Sai_ was going to appear in public, to play against Shimano on a real _goban..._unbelievable, but true.

Yang Hai quickly checked the listing: Shimano against a newbie from the Go Association's free-for-all tournament. The newbie's name was Fujiwara Sai. If that wasn't enough, _Go Weekly _had announced that this Fujiwara had won _without a single __loss._

_The invincible Shuusaku who left a record of nineteen straight wins in the Edo era...the modern Shuusaku who had reigned unchallenged for five years..._

And then, it all clicked.

_What if...what if...Sai was there?_ He was just about to ask when the screen showed that Sai had accepted another challenge.

He decided to go to the match. Hope springs eternal that _Sai_ could be there...

* * *

"So...all that was needed was for the ghost to play against a strong player." Akira mumbled, tentatively going near the spot where the ghost had disappeared. "I wonder why...?"

"It's purpose has been done," the old Meijin murmured. "We should not question any more than necessary. There are some questions where the answer is nowhere in sight."

"At least he left the record, so we have proof that he was here," Hikaru mournfully said. "_Ne_, Touya _sensei,_ do you have any comments? I think he'd have liked some words..."

"Very well, then," the older man acquiesced. "'This game was, without a doubt, the work of a genius who should rightly be more famous.' I think this should do."

"Okay," Hikaru wrote the characters carefully on the paper. "Then that's it. Touya, why are you still staring at the paper?"

"Er...nothing," Akira lied. He really couldn't say that he'd seen a shadow move on the paper, a slight patch of grey across the white and black circles, right? It must've been a trick of the light...

However, he wasn't sure, but that seemingly innocent paper seemed to contain some force about it; even if the circles weren't straight, even if Shindo's near-illegible scrawl was on it, Akira could swear that the paper felt _alive._

And, despite the eeriness of it all, he felt safe, as if that paper was a charm of protection.

* * *

The day after tomorrow saw Hikaru, the Touya father and son, and the father's rival at one of the bigger rooms available at the Go Institute.

"I wonder, Sai, why did you decide to participate in this tournament?" Hikaru asked, a funny look on his face.

Sai could only smile. "The piece of paper talking about the free-for-all stated that anyone who won against Shimano could attend one of Touya _sensei's_ study sessions and, quite possibly, play against Touya _sensei. _At that time, I not only have no idea of much of Tokyo's geography, but also no idea how to contact you or Akira here. I could only think about how I could contact either you or Touya _sensei._ I decided, after looking at the flyer, that perhaps I could attract enough attention to get yours, or quite possibly Touya _sensei's."_

"Sai, you could just walk to the Go Institute, you know," Hikaru replied.

"And considering it is you, you would probably exclaim in a loud voice and run up to me," Sai shot back. "In front of several pros who, coincidentally, seem to have very long memories. I never liked being the centre of attention much, and being beside you has the tendency to draw attention to almost everyone around you."

"I think that reasoning is quite sound," the former _Meijin_ commented. "I, for one, would have rushed immediately to confirm such talent, after searching for so long for my opponent again. Who knew that my opponent was in _Europe_ for the past two years receiving treatment for his _condition."_ Only people who knew the truth would figure out that the older man was being sarcastic.

Hikaru had filled in the pair concerning Sai's false background. The sheer beauty of it was that it was not _technically_ lying if one purposely used extremely vague terms to tell the story and that it was a beautiful cover, which could only be broken if, say, one bothered to track the medical records down. It would also explain most things such as Hikaru's fluctuating abilities and why _Sai_ could only play on the Internet. Despite expressing disapproval at lying, even Touya Koyo had to admit that it was a very good lie. Of course, in a roundabout way, it also meant ribbing Sai on his condition for the past two years.

"Well, yes, maybe that was the best you could have done in that situation," Hikaru admitted.

"I look forward to seeing you soon," Touya Koyo said gravely as he turned to leave. "After all, we must even out the score between us."

In a larger-than-life battle yesterday, _Sai _and _Touya Koyo _had met again on the Internet, engaging in a fierce clash that had attracted what must have been half the Net Go population. Why the Internet; having been involved in a domestic accident [falling out of bed] that had resulted with disastrous results and led to Sai staying home for the whole day without Hikaru, Seimei having insisted that Hikaru was not to know about the place. The only difference was that this time, it was a best in three match. _Sai _had won the first and last, if only by one and a half _moku_ first, losing by a half moku the next, then a half _moku_ win the last time, ultimately proving that his win was not a fluke and further enhancing _Sai's_ reputation on the Internet as the 'Honinbo Shuusaku reincarnated'.

Of course, this had resulted in Net Go setting up a privacy screening and their strongest firewalls around Sai to prevent his IP address being traced. Net Go was the leading Go site for three reasons; it was free, easy to use, and had Sai. It was for this last reason that many pros held an account there, ultimately raising the standard of amateurs on Net Go as the sharks and the fish battled it out and searched the Net for the king, in the sea called Net Go. If _Sai_ left, people would follow, so understandably, Net Go protected their two attractions, _Touya Koyo _and _Sai._

"Akira, do bring back the record so that we can see it." Touya Koyo left as a final instruction before he walked out. "I would most likely need it after the depressing visit to Dr Kiyohara."

"Yes, O Tou San," Akira replied. Having seen how depressing the doctor in question was, Akira was only glad to work to keep his father out of depression. From what he could find, having a doctor who predicted death in six weeks every visit for two years ever since the beginning would do that to a person.

"How much do you bet that Sai would win?" Hikaru asked his rival once Sai had left to report for the match and was safely out of earshot.

"Well, Shimano San is a strong player..."

"It's Sai we're talking about."

_Without a single doubt, I know who would win. _"Do you think Sai will play _Shidougo_?"

"If not, I think Shimano is doomed."

"Really? So did I," Akira commented, but not too loudly; Kosemura was attempting to eavesdrop beside him.

* * *

Betting on Go was not a common game played among the pros. Notable exceptions were old Kuwabara _Honinbo_ and Ogata _Juudan,_ who were pretty untouchable, given their positions. The two regularly betted on the outcome of any game between Shindo and Touya Akira, secure in the knowledge that either one could win, or lose, a fifty-fifty chance.

Hardly any pro betted on this; they knew Shimano as a solid player. Even Yang Hai, a Chinese pro studying here, acknowledged that Shimano could give lesser pros a run for their money. They all knew Shimano as strong, and were expecting him to win.

Hence, it was surprising when the new opponent, for lack of better words, _creamed_ him. Even Yang Hai, who had expected the _Kisei_ of the Internet, as _Sai _was titled, to show up, it was still a shock to see the strong Shimano bow in resignation after end-game. The difference was clear; Sai had been holding back, was his impression, and Shimano, not knowing when to quit, had ploughed on to metaphorical suicide. Pretty scary.

Yang Hai was still frozen in shock when the victor, the long-haired pretty boy he'd termed as 'weird' receive his prize from the guest of honour, old Kuwabara _Honinbo_, and bow in gratitude. The reporter from _Go Weekly _had snapped a photo, and judging from the noise now coming from that direction, Yang Hai must have interrupted his line of sight and thus giving the reporter a lovely picture of his Hawaiian-print shirt. Yang Hai didn't care, though, the game, the sheer grace and knowledge behind it, was, without a doubt, _Sai_.

_Sai. Sai_ was here.

With that thought, he dashed after the trail left by the long-haired pretty boy, but stopped abruptly when the trail led to the Institute's entrance, where _Sai_ could have disappeared through, out into a world with six billion people, and anonymous once again.

Sai was gone, gone like a ghost that had just disappeared.

* * *

A _kifu _had just made its way up to the Net Go forum, Waya noted. It was also from _OldasSea,_ one of the most reliable sources related to _Sai. _Granted, Sai was here, but since his impromptu appearance in real life Shindo had had no idea where he had run to, and no clue where Sai could be. Of course, having found out that Shindo was Sai's student, a feat that perhaps resulted in Shindo's phenomenal skill, Waya wanted to find Sai again. Having been eaten alive by Sai, he had discovered that he had been trying several other strategies other than what he favoured, which had resulted in his first victory from Ochi. Sweet victory for him, and Ochi locked himself in the bathroom for _hours._

Now, he wanted to find Sai again, but had no idea where was he. Shindo, the student, didn't know...

He opened the _kifu _and listlessly scanned through it. It was most likely a fake, he thought. There weren't so many Sai _kifu_ out there that he didn't know about...

The stone patterns clicked in his mind, and he found himself re-reading the record. That _fuseki_, and that move there...

It was five years ago. Waya was an _insei_ all over again, at the International Amateur Tournament, and he had mentioned, "And what if Honinbo Shuusaku learned modern _joseki_?"

Now, the result of that thought stared back at him.

Sai had played this. Checking the provenance, he had to blink again at the source:

_Go Free-for-all Tournament Finals, hosted at 0900 Tokyo time today at the Japan Go Institute, Shimano Shiro against Fujiwara Sai._

_Sai._

_Fujiwara Sai._

_He's here._

That was all Waya could think as he stared at the screen and the _kifu_ it illuminated.

* * *

"You played Shidougo with him, huh?" That was what Hikaru accused his teacher of as they went into the _ramen_ store, partly due to Hikaru's insistence that Sai treat his student and celebrate having won the game. Akira had no objections against it, since the store in question was partly a Go salon as well, and it was warm, which was very different from the cold autumn wind was hinting at. The two of them played Go over pork and miso _ramen, _Sai having to duck as the piece of noodle almost hit him over Hikaru's insistence that that move at 4-17 was very sound, Akira dryly asking using whose logic would consider that sound.

"Not really...more like I started about five moves into the game," Sai admitted. "He was aggressive, but when he attacks it's easy to feint. And his defence is solid, but like a rock is solid, you just have to go around it."

"The point here is that you played and won. And next month you'll play even more strong opponents," Akira said.

"The Asian wall is crumbling, and Japan looks like it's going to lose out." Hikaru noted. "Sai's appearance will change things."

"Hikaru, I almost understand," Sai replied. "I have spent my life here, in this country. I too want us to stand dignified at the top. But Go is not about winning, remember? It is about people, it is about strategy, it is about trust."

"And Touya _sensei_ had trained the China representative," Hikaru pointed out. "That guy is strong."

There was a small silence before Sai's question: "What's his name?"

Only an idiot could miss the excitement in his voice.

* * *

Mid-afternoon found Shades of Grey occupied by Touya senior and two ghosts, where the former Murase Shuho played against Touya Koyo. Shuho had been acknowledged as the second strongest disciple next to Shuusaku, and frankly, even that was debatable if Shuusaku hadn't died. Touya Koyo recognised this strength and played Black.

"How is the game?" Hikaru whispered to the old Shuwa as three of them, Akira, Hikaru and Sai, took places beside the _goban_. "I can't tell who's winning. How long has passed."

"They're playing Edo Go," Shuwa explained. "No time limit and no _Komi_. Shuho is strong, though. This game, if given the opportunity, will last through the night, I think. I can't tell who has the advantage; mid-game had just started."

"I see," Akira murmured, watching as his father attacked what looked like an impenetrable defence.

"Let us play a game, then, Shuusaku," Shuwa told Sai. "I want to see how _Honinbo_ Shuusaku has advanced since the Edo era."

"Yes, let us," Sai replied. "But why do you call me Shuusaku? That was the name given to Torajiro..."

"Honinbo Shuusaku was the name of the one who scored nineteen straight wins in the Edo Castle games. You are the one who had done so, therefore you are the Middle Sage, Shuusaku," Shuwa harrumphed. "His real name was not Honinbo Shuusaku, but Kuwabara Torajiro. Therefore, it is perfectly alright to call you Shuusaku."

"Middle Sage?" Sai asked again.

"Dosaku was the Former Sage. Jowa the Latter Sage. Therefore, you are Shuusaku, the Middle Sage, one of the three Go Sages of the Edo era." Shuwa explained as he arranged a delicate _goban_ onto a nearby table. "Hence, we play with the Edo era's rules. No time limit, no _Komi_. Resignation takes place if one has to think for more than one hour."

"Very well, then. Please _Nigiri_." Sai told him, pulling out a white folding fan.

* * *

Black started first, as per the rules. White followed immediately, and then the two contrasting colours alternated between each other. In Go terms, they were building a fort from which to attack from. Nothing very complex, standard _joseki_ combining classical Go with modern moves in a flawless way that only one who had actually lived through the Edo era to modern times could achieve. It was play that was difficult to attain, but still within mortal reach.

_Fuseki_ having been placed, the two forts, side by side, began to spread out territory from that point. It was a standard battle response; build a fort and spread out influence from there. Then came the first skirmish, where White began attacking into Black's territory in a bid for more. Black responded accordingly, beginning a war between the two sides.

Go is like a game of war. One assembles a base of operations, and from there send out soldiers to conquer more land. The basic idea is the same, but the details are different in that less blood was involved. Unless it was the Blood-vomiting game, where Honinbo Jowa became the first person to manage to kill using Go.

But we stray. The game had advanced well into mid-game, and the skirmish had been abandoned in favour of all-out war as both sides pushed their borders to expand out. Finally, Black won, but white soon recovered to claim previously unclaimed territory.

The race was on at the start of end-game. Quite possibly, the end-game dragged on longer than the starting- and mid-game. Both sides had to move carefully to victory, yet fend off each other's attack and yet, despite it all, continue on. Finally the last stone was placed, and while counting the stones, both players held their breath, or the ghost made an action similar to it, seeing as ghosts didn't actually respire, knowing that there could only be one victor.

White had won the game, if only just barely.

"It was a wonderful game," Hikaru, who had walked over to watch, recorded the match on the _kifu paper _the shop stored in the counter, as Shuho had told him. "This is a game that should be remembered. White really managed to come back."

"Now, it is perhaps proven who is the better teacher," Sai murmured, watching Shuwa.

Shuwa smiled, even though what looked like a tear beaded around his eye. "Torajiro was right that I am the better teacher. However, you are certainly the better player. Honinbo Shuusaku, I thank you for this game..."

His voice began to fade, even more so, as the last words of Honinbo Shuwa continued:

"_Who was stronger, the teacher or the student? A teacher is strong, but the student will, always, one day break free of his teacher's shadow, and surpass the teacher. I have found the answer..._

_Thank you, Kami Sama, for the time I have received..._

_And, Fujiwara Sai...no, Honinbo Shuusaku..._

_I thank you again...for giving it to me..._

_I will now leave...leave the world of the living..."_

Once again, there was one less wonder in the world as the late Honinbo Shuwa, who had sought to find out if his student was stronger than him, left this world on to the afterlife. As the doors of the salon flew open, signalling the gusts of autumn winds blowing in, amidst Shuho cursing and the Touya father and son rushing to close the doors, a sheet of _kifu_ paper was all that was left, left of the last game that Honinbo Shuwa had played, and won, if barely. Despite this, he had realised, who was the better player. And, like he had done before, he gave way.

That piece of paper flew out of the doors with the wind bearing it, out of the door, into the hand of a waiting person seated in a post-Korean War Jeep.

"And thus, here is the last will and testament of Honinbo Shuwa, teacher of Honinbo Shuusaku," Abe no Seimei mournfully spoke as he packed the paper amidst a plastic folder containing two more games...the last games of Inoue Genan Inseki and Honinbo Shuei.

"Perhaps, some day, we will meet again, Shuwa," was Seimei's words before the Jeep drove off.

* * *

_**Please read and review!**_


	17. Chapter 17:The Hunted Fox

_**I do not own HikaGo. There, disclaimer placed.

* * *

**_

_**The Hunted Fox**_

The Net Go community was in uproar again as a certain _kifu _made itself known on the Internet, lauded by _zelda _and _OldasSea_, plus _Seiji_, another recognised professional, as a _Sai_ game.

The only difference was that this _kifu _was actually played out in the real world by a certain Fujiwara Sai, thereby confirming the die-hard fans' suspicion that Fujiwara had a connection to their favourite Internet Go player. _Sai's_ games were already much admired and Sai himself was respected even by some Go pros who had had the fortune, or misfortune, to challenge him thinking of him as an amateur. The appearance of Fujiwara only placed a face on the nameless idol of Net Go. Sadly, there were no pictures of Sai, but _OldasSea _and_ zelda _claimed that they had seen _Sai_ and, if they see him again, they would recognise him.

Now, every amateur in the world who remotely knew about Sai were thinking:

_If I go to Japan... Maybe, just maybe..._

_Perhaps...I could find him._

_Sai_.

Fujiwara Sai.

_Is he the Ghost?_

That was the question many asked themselves.

* * *

Two months had passed and now _Sai_ made periodic entrances into Net Go, prompting new guesses as to what he did. According to a university professor who went on Net Go as _GameMaster, _Sai could be a university student, as the hours Sai seemed to be off coincided with university schedules. Several disagreed; Sai was available on weekends, and sometimes not, which meant it couldn't be university. Some speculated that it could be a child, like how _zelda_ had mentioned, but more argued that it couldn't be a kid; no kid could get that kind of talent.

Whatever it was, many of the world's top amateurs, either by word of mouth or having played _Sai_ on the Internet, had heard about _Sai_, and how he should appear at the International Amateur Cup that was coming soon. True, Japan was cold at this time of the year, but no one gave much care to that. In fact, one amateur remarked that even a storm couldn't stop them from coming, _just_ on the off chance, however minuscule, that _Sai_ would appear.

* * *

Tokyo was in no way a winter wonderland, Ko Yeongha had grumbled, feeling the chill even through the thick jacket that had warded off the Seoul winter, but seemed to have little effect on the Tokyo cold. At least he was indoors, he comforted himself, wondering why had he agreed to come here.

It started two months ago, where he'd mentioned _Sai. That_ had gotten a reaction from the famously cool Yun, now 9_-dan, _who had played _Sai _before and lost. From how Yun had told that story, he'd have thought that something died if it wasn't that the subject was Baduk. When Yun had heard about _Sai, _he had pumped Ko Yeongha on any information, and then he had challenged _Sai_ again. From the look of the aftermath, where Yun had collapsed in his chair, Yeongha didn't need to see the board to know that the 9-dan had been beaten badly. Having seen the later _Sai VS Touya Koyo _best of three, Ko Yeongha was forced to admire Sai and tried to challenge him, but to no avail; Sai received challenges the moment his name appeared on the list of idle players. Obviously, as Sai had remained at the top of the list of Net Go's strongest players and had even gotten the title of 'Saint of Net Go'.

Thus, following the hints that Sai could be at the International Amateur Tournament, seeing as Touya Koyo, the unspoken rival of Sai, was there, he decided to follow the Korean representative to Tokyo, in the hope that he could, just maybe, find Sai there.

It was thus for this reason that he was standing here in the hall, leaning against the wall, looking around for anyone that could possibly fit the profile of _Sai._ He sneered at the China representative, Lee Li-shin, who glared back without any words spoken. He inwardly ridiculed the American representative, and then his attention switched abruptly as he noted a familiar pair of blond bangs that could only be the property of Shindo Hikaru.

Shindo Hikaru. That strange Japanese pro. He'd gotten strong, Ko Yeongha had to admit. In payment for his having insulted Shuusaku, Shindo had wrangled for first board and tried to beat him, during the first Hokuto Cup. He had nearly succeeded. The second time, he _had_ succeeded. Japan had come in second place, yes, but perhaps Japan was weakening now; talent was becoming much more rare already, perhaps Japanese Go was dying out...

"I'll Kasparov all of you!" The big Russian bear there that was presumably the Russian representative declared in what would be barely passable Japanese. Ko Yeongha sighed. Just because they were the world's chess champion...

Shindo Hikaru had noticed him, and he immediately ran over, dragging what, in Korean terminology, could only be described as a _king-card._ The long hair and naturally slender face and features almost led him to believe that that was a girl, but the conspicuously flat chest under the dark-green jacket proved otherwise.

"Ko Yeongha?" Hikaru asked him. "What the hell are you here for?"

Ko Yeongha inwardly grinned, careful to keep his face straight. "I'm here to watch the competition," he replied. It was technically true; Yun 9-dan had told him to follow the Korean representative and hunt for Sai there. Yun would have gone himself, but there was an international competition that held him back. Yeongha, in the interests of Korea's pride in Baduk, decided to go instead of Yun, so that Yun would not stubbornly ignore the competition and fly to Japan chasing after someone who may or may not be there.

"I was told that maybe a certain player would be here," he told the Japanese pro, hoping that said pro would have information. "I had wanted to meet that player."

Hikaru looked blank. "Who?"

So much for that hope. "I'm looking for _Sai,"_ he clarified. "I was online two months ago when I challenged a certain player and he won against me. The game was too horrible to contemplate."He had never seen himself admitting this to Shindo. "There were rumours that _Sai_ could be the Japanese representative, so I came here. Where is Japan's representative?"

"He's right here," Hikaru now grinning, pointed to the _king-card._ "Ko Yeongha, this is Fujiwara Sai, the Japanese representative and the one who taught me Go. Sai, this is Ko Yeongha, the one I told you about, that Korean pro who insulted Shuusaku."

The long-haired brunette looked at him and, in those amethyst orbs, Ko Yeongha could only watch carefully as he felt like he was being studied. "It is nice to meet you," a gentle masculine voice replied. "Hikaru has talked about you."

"_You must have a lousy sensei if he's not a pro yet,_" Ko Yeongha muttered disgustedly in Korean. "How can a pro like you acknowledge an amateur as a teacher?" he asked in Japanese.

Hikaru looked as if he was about to fire something back when the bell rang, signalling the start of the competition. A bustle of hive-like activity ensued as Hikaru led that girly-haired man to a table. Ko Yeongha grimaced at the pairing; Russia against Japan. The outcome was expected.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the twenty-fifth annual International Amateur Tournament hosted by the Japan Go Institute with the American Go Institute." This year's emcees announced. "We have Kurosawa 9-_dan_ and Morishita 9_-dan_ with us today to act as the judges. This year's tournament will be arranged in the Swiss-system, with the three players with the three greatest record to win the tournament. The tournament will be spread out with three matches in one day over a ten-day period. At the end,the top two players will play against each other for first place. So, please _nigiri_."

And the games started.

* * *

The fastest to be finished was the Russia-Japan match. Ko Yeongha smirked inwardly as Sai got up and left in the direction of the bathroom. He looked to see the Russian representative collapsed in his chair, staring at the _goban_, face as white as a sheet. "Kasparov..." he murmured.

_That_ was enough for him to take back his first impression. Ko Yeongha looked again. Black, which was Japan, had dominated White. This was Go at a higher level than any normal person could achieve. This was quick, brutal and painful. This was Go that could stomp all over his pride as a pro. Kasparov, indeed. It was like the Russo-Japan war; no one expected Japan to win, but they did.

_Fujiwara Sai...This is that person's style...the style of Sai._

He turned to see the green eyes of Shindo Hikaru. "It is not insulting to acknowledge an amateur as a teacher," the teenager slowly said, green eyes flashing with some of hidden fire within. "Not when that amateur is Sai."

_Sai_...the Ghost of Net Go.

_Sai_ was a Japanese.

_Sai_ was Shindo's teacher.

_Sai_ had appeared again, fresh from the wash-room, settling himself in his seat. "Oh, Yeongha San. What brings you here?"

And then, in _Korean,_ although a bit archaic, Sai told him, "_Hikaru is not weak, you know. Skill is not measured by whether one's teacher is a professional._"

And Ko Yeongha, his wit having deserted him, could only croak back: _"Sai."

* * *

_

_What on earth had happened to Ko Yeongha?_ Lee Li-shin wondered as he walked past an ashen-faced Ko Yeongha who had collapsed in a chair, depressed. It had been over two hours since Japan had totalled Russia, he could tell, as the Russian representative was still drinking like there was no tomorrow.

The next pairing was China against Japan. Lee Li-shin fully expected to win against the Japanese representative. Of course, the representative had changed, but he didn't think that as an impediment to his plan. In fact, barring that the rumours on the Internet were true, as they so often weren't, he could fully expect to bring the trophy back for China.

"I take Black," the long-haired man said, and he nodded in reply.

"_Onegaishimasu,_"they both said.

...

It was later at mid-game that he realised that he was being played around with. Angry and irritated at being looked down on, he upped his seriousness, playing like he would against a pro. Even then, the Japanese representative knocked him back, continuing to take over as if his moves had no effect on the guy. This was...this was...this was play that should belong to a pro. Amateurs had no right to this sort of strength; they would have won even against the pros. This was a game that, try as he might, he could not win.

"_Arimasen,"_ Lee finally acknowledged, realising that only one person fitted the bill as to who was this player. It was a possibility he didn't even dare contemplate, as it would mean realising that, from the start, he was out-classed. Everyone around had started to observe their game; after all rumours stated that the Japanese representative this time was supposed to be _Sai, _and frankly it better be, or all hell would break loose. Now, he knew how true those rumours were.

After all, he had played _Sai_ before.

"Thank you," the long-haired man replied. As he cleaned up the stones, Lee Li-shin asked him the question that had been weighing on his mind, since he realised the difference between them:

"Do you play Internet Go?_"_

The Japanese representative who had won scooped up the stones, looking up at him. "Why, yes, I do."

"What is your nickname on Net Go, Mister..." his eyes had strayed to the board, where the representative list was kept, and now his blood almost froze as he read the name printed up there in English:

_Japan: Fujiwara Sai._

The rumours, against all odds, had been true.

"It's _Sai._ I use my given name as my nickname," the Saint of Net Go replied.

Unfortunately, everyone present heard that.

And _then_ all hell broke loose.

* * *

"Sai?"

"Sai? Where?"

"Eh? The Ghost of Net Go?"

"The _Kisei _of the Internet? Here?"

"You are _Sai_?" a huge man with blonde hair shook the tall, thin long-haired brunette Japanese. "You're the Ghost of Net Go?"

_Oh shit._ Hikaru hadn't thought about what would happen if Sai turned up at the competition. Any of the strong amateurs present could figure out that he was _Sai_ just by playing him. Of course, he had expected the furore around _Sai_ to die down already, it had been five years for goodness's sake, but apparently the recent rumours, from what he heard from Waya about Sai being at the next international tournament, had stirred up even more attention about _Sai_.

Then he had spotted a familiar shock of red hair. Waya Yoshitaka was here.

This couldn't get any worse. No, it couldn't get worse at all.

"Sai!" Waya had happily yelled as he rushed over to Sai. This had had the unintended effect of attracting the attentions of other amateurs.

These amateurs, having almost no excitement in their lives, had heard of Sai before. His appearance here had only served to excite them such that some had resigned just to ask Sai for a game.

"People, please go back to your seats, there are still games going on here," the emcee called. Trailing behind the emcee was the reporter from _Go Weekly_, Amano, who was covering the advent of Go internationally for this week's edition. Needless to say, Amano had heard of _Sai_ before. He had been one of the lucky ones to play _Sai_ before _Sai_ was known throughout the Internet.

"_Sai_, here? Are you joking?" Gone was the bored reporter, in his place the Go-loving amateur who did reporting as a necessity and certainly not as an interest. "I've got to get an interview..."

"Waya... Hikaru, why are so many people talking about _Sai_? Isn't that me?" Sai confusedly asked his student once he had gotten the man's hands off his shoulders.

Hikaru wondered if Sai had ever figured out his exact status on Net Go before. Or even of his fame on the Internet. "Um...it's like this...do you remember when I introduced you to Net Go?"

"Oh, yes, there was this box, and we played many opponents on it..." Sai dreamily recalled.

"Box?" Waya echoed.

"Computer," Hikaru told him. "Yeah, then I helped you set up an account and even helped you place the stones on the picture of the _goban_..."

"Hang on, you were standing behind Sai the whole time! And you lied!" Waya yelled at him.

"Not behind; in front," Hikaru clarified. At Waya's look, he continued: "Remember that Sai's a cancer survivor? Yeah, I met him in hospital when he couldn't even move without help at all, so to pass the time I let him play Go. He told me the moves, I placed them. Anyway, Sai, you played many people, and you've _never_ lost before. _Never._ And after that game with Touya _sensei,"_ _the game where you disappeared after, _he mentally added, "you were given the title of Saint of Net Go, but then you disappeared and now, two years later, you turn up again..."

"And you were the Saint's student the whole time, and you didn't tell me!" Waya yelled, knocking Hikaru in the head.

"That hurt! And anyway, Sai was sick at that time! Have you ever thought the effect this many Go players would have on him?"

Waya opened his mouth, gaping like a fish, and then closed it, having no point to argue. True, perhaps it could be a bit extreme on him...

That thought was further confirmed when the Korean representative asked Sai for a game and Sai agreed, but then that was followed by several more people asking for games as well. Waya decided that it was almost lucky that this was a Swiss-system tournament as it meant that nobody was going to riot over not being able to play _Sai __in person._

Even_ Waya _found that thought a bit much to contemplate. _Sai _was like a god for everyone to admire and praise over. Now, it was like the god had descended onto earth...

But why?

* * *

Needless to say, Sai took only an hour to trounce the Korean representative. Even after five years, the poor guy didn't have a chance.

Waya could now understand exactly what happened to Ko Yeongha. _Sai_ had happened. Ko Yeongha had lost. From Ko Yeongha's reaction, he had been beaten and either badly, or Sai terrified him. Frankly, Sai as he was right now, with those eyes Waya termed as 'psycho-cat eyes' aimed at the opponent, Waya could kind of understand how Ko Yeongha could have been terrified into submission. Sai's eyes gave off an intensity Waya had felt only against old Kuwabara _Honinbo_ during Isumi's challenging game. It had felt like there were heavy weights dragging him down, and he wasn't even directly receiving it. Sai was like that; intense, a silent god waiting and then pouncing on the sinner, dishing out punishments for the hubris committed at having challenged him...

"Dammit, Sai is playing _Shidougo_ against him!" Hikaru seethed besides Waya. "He never does that with me! It's like every time we play, he considers slaughtering me on the _goban_ to be a tutoring game."

People had once remarked that the skill Shindo had played with could only have come from constantly playing against a strong player on the level of Touya Koyo. It turns out that the strong player was actually _Sai._

The hubbub had died down now; all the amateurs present were silent, watching the game played between Japan and Korea. Russia and China, the top contenders, had been knocked down as it proved that Japan could beat them easily. Now, it was a strong contest between Taiwan, Japan, America and the Netherlands. The others were strong, but this was _Sai_, the Saint of Net Go who had yet to lose any game he was challenged to.

The game they saw proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how strong _Sai_ was. The Korean representative resigned soon after mid-game started.

_And Sai is the Japanese representative,_ Waya numbly realised. _Now they have a chance to face Sai on the international stage. Whoever wins against Sai could claim the honour of a place among the world's top players. Maybe even be the top player. At stake here is reputation, not the cup, not the purse, not even the prestige, but for the chance to defeat Sai and make Go history. _

_Whoever who wins against Sai...will possibly become the next Saint of Net Go._

_The game is on.

* * *

_

Russia and China were defeated and dropped out of the tournament, having been given the double knock-out by Japan and Korea. Several more had one loss but enough wins. Throughout it all, when the bell signalled that it was three pm, Japan had had _not a single loss_ at all.

"I have almost forgotten the stress a tournament has on the body," Sai complained, rubbing his brow. "Maybe I was lucky that..."

"Sai, we're still in public. And please, run," Hikaru stated, looking nervously behind him.

Sai was just about to turn back when Hikaru grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the Institute at breakneck speed to the Go Institute's parking lot where a certain Jeep stood waiting for them. The door flew open, they got in, the door closed and they drove off before the mob of Go players could follow. Requests for games were still being yelled as they drove out of the gate.

"Phew, glad we shook them off," Hikaru moaned, panting.

"Yell me about it," Waya agreed, lying back onto the surprisingly comfortable seat.

"Yeah...Hey, why are you here?" Hikaru yelled at Waya. "I thought you were still at the Institute!"

"I was in the parking lot, when this Jeep drove up, and some guy asked me if I saw a long-haired man. There's only one long-haired man here, your _sensei. _So I asked if he knew Sai..."

"And he turned out to be Sai's caretaker," Chiaki chipped in behind the driver's wheel. As the Jeep's suspension swayed, Hikaru was suddenly reminded exactly why he had sworn never to get into that Jeep again. _Desperate times call for desperate measures..._

"So I tagged along in the car." Waya finished. "Fujiwara _sensei_, please, play me again in a serious game."

Sai vaguely remembered the first time he had been totally dominated. He could still remember the feeling of defeat, bitter and heavy, that desperate fear of not measuring up to standard, that feeling of helplessness as he could only cower as his territory was being taken over. He had had revenge five years later, but that feeling was still there.

He was just about to answer when Hikaru replied: "Come on, I played Sai for two years and I still get my ass handed back to me on a regular basis. I've never won once against Sai. Not once at all. Do you think you'll have a chance?"

Waya gulped and was just about to retort when Sai gave his answer: "Yes."

"Huh?" Both pros started. "Sai?" Hikaru looked scandalised. Waya looked happy.

"But I take White, and we play without _Komi_," Sai reluctantly compromised. Waya agreed, feeling that Sai could probably crush him with the _Komi. Komi_ was not a good idea when _Sai_ was playing White.

* * *

"Sai, I know you're good. Sai, you're good, but this...?" Hikaru amended his earlier thought. "This...is pretty creepy."

Waya had not won any of the games. Neither had Sai. Black and White had tied for four times in a row.

"I agree. When I was in Kyoto, an...acquaintance of mine played with me like this," Sai fondly remembered how Fushimi had played. "I have never won once against him."

"But he's tied all the games with you?" Hikaru said, aghast. _What kind of monster was that?_ "Who was that guy?"

"He was _Kami_." Sai simply replied. Hikaru was just about to retort when the idea that Sai was being literal came to him, and he wisely abandoned any discussion of a theological nature until they were no longer in the sushi restaurant and possibly not within earshot of Waya.

"So...you're saying that you trained like this in Kyoto?" Waya had shaken off the disappointment and frustration of tying another game by this. "You trained like _this_?"

"Why, yes. My opponent was someone who could tie all my games. I spent a long time trying my hand against him. I have never won, but also never lost. Perhaps if he tried I would be out-classed, but I have never seen this." Sai reflectively said to himself as he absently reached for a plate of sushi on the conveyor belt.

Hikaru saved the plate before it could fall. "How come I never heard about this, Sai?" he asked.

"It was after I disappeared and after my...operation," Sai decided to lie, in the interest of Waya not asking more questions. "I was disoriented and had to stay with...a dear friend of mine in Kyoto. He owns a very nice house near the Fushimi Inari shrine."

Sai could almost see the translation procedure going on in Hikaru's head: _It was after I got a physical body, and I stayed with Kami Sama in the Fushimi Inari shrine._

"So this is how you train..." Waya was, frankly, dumbfounded. "Could I meet this friend of yours? Why isn't he a pro? Better yet, why aren't you a pro? You could sweep off even the higher-_dans. _You could get a title or two, maybe even all seven titles. So why aren't you a pro?"

"Well...my poor health prevented me from doing so. I had wanted to register into this year's exam, but I missed the deadline. And now, I've met my rival, and I don't see why I need to join the pros. After all, Waya San, a good player doesn't necessarily need to be a pro, right?" Sai mused. "But I want to find more opponents...more strong ones...before I can face _him_."

And then, finally, Waya understood. _Sai_ played Go for the love of it, and because he was skilled at it. He had searched for potential rivals, and now, he had found it, but his rival was no longer a professional. Before them, Waya was nothing, a significant speck between these giants who clashed and pushed and fought each other, pushing each other up, up to the ultimate goal...up to the Hand of God.

_This, _he unconsciously realised,_ must have been the very will that saved Sai from death.

* * *

_

_**A king-card, if I'm not wrong, is Korean slang for bishounen. **_

_**The Swiss-system tournament is used when there are too many players in a tournament to play a round-robin. They take turns to play one another, scoring one point for a win, and none for a loss. At the end, the one with the most points win. **_

_**In the Heian era men typically learned Chinese. They probably learned Korean too, if Wikipedia is to be trusted. Therefore, Sai is most definitely bilingual if not trilingual.**_

_**Please read and review!**_


	18. Chapter 18: The Running Fox

_**We're still trying out this structure, and, can anyone recommend good fics in other websites? I probably ran out of entertaining fics to read already.

* * *

**_

_**The Running Fox**_

That very night, the online Go community was abuzz with people, words flying across screens as the netizens of Net Go discussed the latest event; namely, the appearance of the Ghost of Net Go. _Sai_, had turned up before the International Amateurs as the Japan representative and had beaten them. Of course, this was followed by interested people asking: 'Who is Sai and why is he so famous?', to which Ghost of Net Go Followers posted the opening paragraph of their website:

_In the July of 1999, the then newly created online Go website, Net Go, welcomed the entrance of another Go player. This player will,in the following months, win against several top amateurs and pros alike in the Go world. This player will be lauded as the _Kisei_ of the Internet, Honinbo Shuusaku reincarnated, the Saint of Net Go. This player is _Sai_, the one who, after a year-long break from the Internet, challenged Touya Koyo, then five-title holder and considered the world's strongest player, and, against the monumental odds stacked against him, won their game, if only by a half point. This win earned the elevation of _Sai _to a legend of Go history known only to the higher pros. _

_Now, we seek to know: who is this mysterious Ghost of Net Go, who can play evenly against professionals, yet is not one himself? Who is Sai?_

_Sai had been unmasked as a certain Fujiwara Sai, who appeared three months after _Sai_'s next appearance on the Internet. Fujiwara had been confirmed as _Sai_ after winning against representatives of Russia, China, Korea and the United Kingdom at the International Amateur Tournament as representative of Japan. So far, Sai's winning streak on the Internet had continued, but even if Sai lost, the Go world will forever celebrate such genius._

_There are many _Sai_s in the Internet. There is only one _Sai_ of Net Go. And, he could be the strongest player on earth...possibly even the God of Go himself?_

**Sai, the Ghost of Net Go, has descended on earth...**

**Sai is a real person...**

**I thought Sai was a computer..huh, guess not...**

**Still, this guy hasn't lost yet...**

**Wow, is he even human? Not a single loss at all...**

**It's like the God of Go has descended on earth...**

**Sai...Sai...**

**Where is he? I want to play him...**

**I want to play him...**

**Find him...and then we can play him...**

Thus, the search has started.

* * *

The amateurs the next day watched for the long-haired _bishounen _who was the Ghost of Net Go. When Sai turned up ,some of them were excited at, quite possibly matching skills against him. The minority were those who had played Sai before, and frankly they could tell the difference in strength between them.

He beat a 7-dan pro. He beat a 9-dan. He beat a _title-holder._ Put in that perspective, perhaps really, Sai was a _monster_ on the _goban_.

Then, Sai had appeared and they had started the drawing of lots for the next game. There was a collective sigh of relief as Japan was paired with USA. Hardly anyone wanted to face Japan so soon in the game. So far, Taiwan and the Netherlands were leading after Japan, but it didn't seem to be continuing soon if they faced Sai.

"Please _Nigiri,"_ the emcee announced.

And the games started.

It was two hours later when the US representative finally resigned.

"Wow, you're good, Sai _sensei." _the American told Sai in Japanese. "Are you intending to join the pros?"

"I don't know," Sai decided to reply. "Shall we discuss the game?"

"It looks like you have even more opponents waiting," the American told him, motioning to the crowd of amateurs that had materialised when Sai was not paying attention. "You know, you could go to America, see the world first before taking the pro exam. There's a whole following of fans in America dedicated to you and frankly, they'll declare Mardi Gras if you came..."

"I don't know, but it does sound like a good idea..." Sai wistfully murmured, not paying attention. _What on earth is Mardi Gras?_

"Hey, stop convincing Sai to leave," a voice growled. "He'll go anywhere he wants to after telling me."

"Oh, Hikaru, you're here," Sai exclaimed in relief. "I didn't see you..."

"That's because you were busy attempting to crush your opponent in a way that will give you a challenge and motivate him." Hikaru told his teacher. "Sai, Ogata _sensei_ is free today and he checked Net Go. You've _got_ to finish your games and leave."

"Hikaru, don't be rude. If Ogata _sensei _wants a game then of course he'll challenge me. But then, he'll probably have to wait a bit first." Sai frowned. "I don't think I can play against three at a time, it would be insulting. _Ne, _Hikaru, what are you doing after this? Don't you have the _Honinbo_ preliminaries to go through?"

"Finished it already," Hikaru gave a non-committal shrug as the US representative got up. "The guy was weak. Do you want to play a game?"

"Of course, I would love to play against my student." Sai laughed. "Take Black."

Shindo Hikaru was known as one of Japan's rising Go talents. Once it was revealed that he was the student of the Ghost of Net Go, his reputation had spread a lot. Even before Sai came into the public view, Hikaru was already lauded as a strong Go player, having won against Ko Yeongha in the second Hokuto Cup. Therefore, it was quite a shock to see the newly-minted 5-dan bow in resignation.

"Hikaru, my opponent is here! Do you want to watch?" Sai asked him as Japan was paired against the United Kingdom representative.

"Yeah," Hikaru replied, pulling another chair over. The game passed in relative silence as both players started.

The UK representative had heard of _Sai,_ but have never played against him before. Therefore, he had assumed that _Sai_ was merely a myth designed to sensationalise. Now, having been faced with _Sai,_ he could tell that _Sai_ was, without a question, the strongest player he had ever met. _This is Sai, the Saint of Net Go,_ he realised. _What intensity he has...can anyone match up to that?_

Still, he felt motivated to do his best, and even as he resigned, recognising defeat, loss did not feel bitter at all, as he got up. In fact, he felt exhilarated. _What a feeling...no wonder so many want to play against Sai._

Winning the title of Saint seemed a long way off for them.

A chuckle sounded, and it turned out to be old Kuwabara _Honinbo_, who had dropped by on one of his wanderings. He had chuckled at the occupied _goban_ where the game of Japan against the United Kingdom was placed.

"Ah, there's another scary one," he'd sighed. "I would fear Shindo and Touya, but this one...is possibly the scariest of them all...perhaps it's a good thing he's an amateur, heh heh..."

* * *

The last game for Sai in the tournament was the Dutch representative. This time, most of the stronger amateurs finished their games quickly, if only so that they could watch the end-game's last moves. Sadly for them, before they even started their last game, the Dutch representative had resigned after _mid-game._ There were curses and complaints why didn't he at least hang on for a while longer...

_Some people are sadists,_ Sai thought before his attention switched to the more immediate problem on his end: Kuroki Chiaki. Or, more like how to provide his share of their living costs. Chiaki was nice, and wouldn't dream of cheating him [with Fushimi Inari to guarantee that, who the hell would?], but he still felt a tiny bit of guilt from being supported by Chiaki. Also, he didn't know what Seimei did for a living, but he had a rough idea it was something to do with exorcism, which frankly didn't pay very well. If only he could do something, but he didn't have the means to do almost any jobs that abounded today. He had considered the pro exams, but it was not a very nice decision as he did not really like the spotlight much. Let Hikaru take the limelight; he'd had enough recognition as Honinbo Shuusaku already. He had created a figure of Go history with his Go, he had no desire to create another.

_Perhaps if it was something to do with Go..._he mused. _Maybe I could charge a small fee to teach Go...but where would I go?_

"Sai...Sai...Sai!" Hikaru almost yelled at him. He started. "Huh? What?" He had found himself in a closed off area of the Go Institute. _When did I get here...?_

"Jeez, do you ever pay attention at all? Dammit, Sai, I was talking about the pro exams," Hikaru grumbled as they continued walking. "It's coming next year, but you could still join, you know, I'm quite sure we can find a recommendation for you..."

"My rival is no longer a professional. Why would I enter the professional Go world when the one I seek is not there?" Sai questioned thoughtfully. "I was just thinking about poor Chiaki San..."

"Your _babysitter?"_ Hikaru asked brashly.

"Yes...Hikaru, I do not approve the use of the word 'babysitter', I am not a child. Right now I man the counter at Shades of Grey part-time, but there's not many people there." Sai decided not to mention that Shades of Grey's clientèle consisted mainly of the _other_ side. Shades and spectres from all over Tokyo, all from bygone eras dating all the way back to the samurai age, congregated there to play games. Only the occasional human would walk in. "I don't get paid much, neither does Seimei, now that I think about it, so Chiaki San's income teaching senior high actually supports three people, and I don't think it's much, really. I was thinking how I could be more...independent, but I just couldn't see a way other than Go..."

"Then take the exam," Hikaru insisted. "You can probably earn loads and repay him. Or maybe you could stay with me..."

"Hikaru, I thank you, but I couldn't possibly accept such hospitality," Sai replied. "After all, I've stayed with you for almost two years since the first time we met, and I still feel guilty at having deprived you of your _Shin_ _Shodan_ match. I have stolen two years of your time from you, Hikaru, I couldn't take any more..."

"Sai, you're my _sensei_," Hikaru insisted. "It's the student's responsibility. Besides, in the Edo era, the teacher would stay with the student, right?"

"It was either that or vice versa," Sai acknowledged. "But since when did it turn to an argument of the regular practices of the Edo era...?"

"So you'll stay with me, right?" Hikaru was almost pleading, his green eyes wide and imploring. "Come on, Sai..."

"Where are we going?" Sai really didn't like the way they had turned. If his memory served him well enough, this corridor passes just right to...

"We're going to watch Touya against another player...what's his name..." Hikaru wondered. "Either way, we're near the professionals' playing area. Hopefully, we can shake off those mad amateurs...Sheesh, wonder why they all want to play against you..."

"Hikaru, I think you had forgotten something," Sai pointed out, stopping on the spot.

"What?"

"Hikaru, we're surrounded by reporters."

* * *

_Sai_ was the bogeyman of title-holders. Ever since the first _Sai_ versus _Touya_ _Koyo_ game, where the five-title holder had retired after, whispers had circulated about how the older Touya had bet that if he lost, he would retire. After that, several title holders had begun to dread facing Sai on the Internet. It was difficult to contemplate that someone who wasn't a pro and who only played on the Internet was stronger than the 'man closest to the Hand of God'.

It was even weirder when that person turned up in the middle of the Go Institute. Amano's eyes had almost popped out of his head when he had seen the long-haired man with Shindo Hikaru, newly acknowledged 5-dan though it wasn't official yet, walking up to the playing area. _What a scoop, _he and what must have been reporters from the major Go magazines, waiting for Touya Akira's result to come out, must have thought_._

"Shindo _sensei,_ do you know Fujiwara Sai? Did you perhaps train him to be so good at the game? Are there any comments about Fujiwara's winning streak in the amateur circuit? Is this Fujiwara's first tournament? What do you think, Shindo _sensei?"_

Hikaru was about to refuse when a stupid desire to get Sai in trouble came over him. "Yeah, I knew Sai," he declared. "No, _I_ didn't train _him_; _he_ trained _me._ He taught me Go, and he still kicks my ass on the _goban_. Also, if the free-for-all isn't counted, then this would be Sai's first tournament. As for his winning streak...well, he beats me all the time and many more besides. I don't expect the results to change much."

Amano was making choking sounds at this news. The amateur was the pro's teacher. The amateur keeps winning. "Did you give him a handicap, Shindo _sensei?"_

"Even game, he used White, no _Komi_," Hikaru answered truthfully. "On a good day I lose by five _moku_. On a bad day it gets worse. The maximum now is about ten _moku, _but two years ago it was twenty or so."

"Hikaru, don't exaggerate! I don't think I ever won by that much of a difference!" Sai exclaimed. "Why, even when you insisted I play Black, the difference was only fifteen _moku_!"

Perhaps he really shouldn't have said that. The amateur could win against a 5_-dan_ pro. Truly, only _Sai_ could have done such a feat.

"Fujiwara San, do you know that your Elo rating, from your games alone, could almost break the record?" another reporters asked. "Did you know that you're considered one of the most influential Go players today? Many _insei_ study your games for guidance."

"No comment," Hikaru firmly replied, pushing Sai into a more private room and barring the door. Only to realise that the room was occupied by pros. Who were taking a break. And his friends were there too.

"Shindo!" Waya called, waving him over. Isumi and Fukui, seated beside Waya, smiled at them. Ochi, sitting far away, scowled at the source of the noise.

"Waya! Isumi! Fukui!" Hikaru dragged his teacher over.

"Who's that guy?" Fukui, the Prince of Speed Go, asked.

"He's my mentor, Fujiwara Sai. He taught me Go." Hikaru introduced them, and they exchanged pleasantries.

"This is the Saint of Net Go, _Sai."_ Waya proudly declared.

Almost immediately the room had fallen silent as the implication of this news impacted all the pros. Even Ochi had heard of Sai, but had dismissed it as a minor player and the rumour that Sai had won against pros was a fluke, but then he'd met _Sai _on the Internet_, _and his opinion had changed into something bordering between respect and fear_. _It was pretty soon that the pros present were in uproar.

"_Sai?_ The Ghost _Sai?_ The _Sai_ who had dominated the top of the players' ranking for five years? That _Sai?"_ Isumi exclaimed. "Fujiwara San, I know a friend who would love to play against you," he told Sai.

"I would love to..." No sooner had he said this that many pros flocked to that part of the room, requesting for games.

Sai wondered if a hunted fox was supposed to feel like this, caught and unable to run and near-mad with worry over being caught by the hunter. Hikaru, possibly sensing his discomfort, had started to drag Sai away, saying: "Maybe next time, I don't think he looks so well..."

"I agree, Shindo," Akira had appeared besides Sai, who had a stricken look on his face. "He looks as if he's blacked out." Tentatively, Hikaru let go of his mentor.

There was a dull thud.

"Sai? Sai! Sai!"

* * *

There were few things that could successfully shake Touya Koyo's peaceful world and the serenity that he cloaked himself in. One of those was receiving a phone call saying that Sai had blacked out in the midst of a crowd, surrounded by Go players. He had almost had a heart attack; Sai couldn't die, right? Not now, not now, when he had yet to find the Divine Move...his rival couldn't go.

_What had happened? Why? _He thought. There was no reason why he would be allowed to return by the gods, only to disappear again after so soon.

...

"Exhaustion," the doctor pronounced. "The medical bracelet says that he's epileptic, and in the middle of the crowd, I'd say that that stress brought on his fit. He'll be fine after some sleep. We'll discharge him now if you want, Shindo San."

"I don't know..." Hikaru was spared from answering when Sai's mumbles started.

"Hikaru? I don't want to stay here..."

"Fine, we'll discharge him," Chiaki interrupted. "Please give me the relevant forms. And quickly too; Fujiwara's a bit...phobic of hospitals. I think he's accident prone sometimes..." he muttered as he walked off with the nurse.

"Sai, what happened?" Hikaru asked, concerned, Akira, Waya and other acquaintances, even Ochi, for some reason, standing around in concern.

"I don't know," Sai answered. "I just...wanted to get away from them...I felt like I was drowning..." he shivered. "It felt horrible, even..."

"This attention on Sai had got to stop," Hikaru insisted. "When it's on games, you don't really mind, but when it shifts to you, then you get like this, right? Sai?"

"It's not that often, it's just that...I have never had so many ask me for a game," Sai wistfully replied. "And I have never met so many who were so...forthcoming. I remember that they would normally send letters, or a messenger, or perhaps a casual game...I didn't know playing Go would mean so many people looking for me. _I just wanted to play Go_..."

In is mind, he'd pleaded to Fushimi for some escape, and Fushimi had granted it. A bit too effectively, perhaps, but effective. Now reporters kept a wide berth, not wanting to be accused of bringing about another attack. There was no better incentive to keep away than the threat of a lawsuit. Not that he intended to sue them, anyway. It was just that the pressure of answering so many questions without revealing the actual details having been lifted was a great relief.

"Maybe we should just organise a press conference," Akira half-heartedly suggested. "Or maybe Fujiwara San could...tone down his playing a bit? After all, it's because he plays so well that people pay attention to him."

"Sai, tone down? He considers slaughtering me on the _goban_ as _Shidougo_. He plays _Shidougo_ with almost every player he meets. The only opponent he could possibly lose against is Touya _sensei_. I think the press conference is a better idea." Hikaru scoffed.

"Is he really that good?" Ochi asked Isumi, being loath to talk to Waya unless really necessary.

"Waya tied against him four times until he realised Sai was forcing ties. Then he demanded a serious game." Isumi softly replied. "He lost. I have faced Sai on the Internet, and I too have lost. And, if Net Go's forums are to be trusted, Sai has won against even the top pro players from China and Korea. He is like the God of Go..."

_And I don't think that's even a tenth of his true talent,_ Ochi thought. _No wonder Shindo is this good; he learnt from the Saint of Net Go._

_What would happen if the teacher was to become professional? _

It was four in the afternoon when Sai was finally allowed to leave the hospital. At about the same time, a bright red Mazda drove up to the main entrance of the hospital, where Ogata and the older Touya jumped out of the car. Or, rather, Ogata jumped out, and then helped Touya Koyo out.

"I am glad to see that you are still here," the former _Meijin_ said with some relief. "For a moment I thought my rival would be gone."

"I had just blacked out for a moment. You should not have come all the way here." Sai replied. "Oh. Ogata San, nice to meet you." The tone Sai had spoken with was a bit too cool, but Ogata held no grudges; he would be pretty cool towards someone who ran him over too.

"Do you need a ride back?" Ogata asked, concerned. Just then a familiar Jeep drove up.

"Thank you for your concern, Touya _sensei,_ Ogata _sensei,"_ Chiaki politely greeted from the driver's wheel. "Now, I'll take Fujiwara home, and then maybe you can see him tomorrow. Oh, yes, Touya sensei, I do believe your son has a few words to say," Chiaki added as he spotted Akira behind. "Well, then goodbye." And he drove off with Hikaru and Sai.

"O Tou San," Akira greeted. "Sai is all right now, as you've seen. I apologise for the false alarm."

"It is not a problem. What had brought about his fit?" the older Touya questioned.

"The doctors say that it was due to the stress brought up when he was accosted by several pro players after the tournament," Akira acknowledged. "The doctors say that perhaps we should keep Fujiwara San out of the limelight as much as possible."

"I see," Touya Koyo concluded. "What did Fujiwara San think we should do."

"I suggested a press conference, and they seem to think of it as a good idea," Akira replied. "At least much better than 'being hunted', as Shindo puts it."

"It is a fine idea," he admitted. "Well, then perhaps we have a meeting in order.

Over the next eight days, Sai's fainting fit had apparently not affected his Go at all; Japan, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, USA managed to elevate themselves into the semi-finals after the Swiss-system preliminaries. Korea and USA were now contending for third place, with Japan and Taiwan being the best possible contenders for first place. Many bet that Japan would dominate the match. With good reason, too.

So far, Sai had slipped into a schedule of turn up, play, discuss, play, discuss, play, discuss, with midday meal thrown somewhere in between, unless Hikaru reminded him to eat, something he kept forgetting when faced with a _goban_. His opponents were delighted and more motivated to play Go than ever, even after losing to Sai. One of them had even clasped his hand and declared his thanks to God for gifting the world with such genius.

Finally, the preliminaries of the International Amateur Tournament ended, and Sai's first ever press conference began.

* * *

_**Epilepsy is so useful sometimes, you can get away from crowds just by fainting. Yes, it's not medically accurate, but it was one of the best excuses I've ever seen. And, Sai doesn't really suffer from that, anyway, he's just fainting.**_

_**By the way, the comments in bold were actually what people were saying over the Net when Sai made his appearance.**_

_**An Elo rating is a measure of a player's ability. It actually exists. I'm not kidding.**_

_**Please read and review!**_


	19. Chapter 19:The Surrounded Fox

_**Those who throw away the past will have no future.**_

_**-Japanese proverb

* * *

**_

_**The Surrounded Fox**_

"_Cough, cough, hack, hack_...what is _this_?" Hikaru almost yelled when confronted with a tiny bankbook.

"I taught Sai how to read the news. He has a surprising ability to predict numbers, when we get down to brass tacks," Chiaki commented. "It's almost like a twisted application of his ability in Go, either that or he's phenomenally lucky. Either way, I've already cashed in everything, minus a finder's fee here and there which goes to a bank in Kyoto, and this is the total net worth earned over two years. In fact, we've already paid off the start-up, and this is still earning from interest."

"This much...Sai would never need to worry about money ever again." Hikaru choked.

"Or at least until the next crisis." Chiaki commented. "I think you took that news better than _he_ did." Chiaki's expression was aimed at Sai.

Sai's face held an equal look of disbelief. "I...I have this much?" he stuttered.

"_This_ _much_ was liquidated from a cache of treasures Seimei managed to...salvage from the Honinbo house during the Restoration," Chiaki pointed out a sum. "We withdrew a lot before the world war started and deposited it into other banks. I think it doesn't take much brains to get rich after about sixty years of compound interest."

"_Sixty_ _years?_ Ah..." Social studies was never Hikaru's strong point.

"After the war, there was a lot of confusion. During that time, it was much easier for unaccounted people to, say, suddenly appear without notice. Of course, money was needed during that time, too, and sixty years of compound interest helped a lot. The _fun_ part is, _none_ of it can be proven in a court of law." Chiaki enthusiastically replied.

"Kuroki, I'll summarise," Seimei ordered. "The point is, any money worries on Fujiwara San's part is appreciated, but not needed. In fact, they're unnecessary."

Silence was the only thing that followed, soon to be broken by Hikaru's "Damn. Now I've run out of excuses."

* * *

The press conference in question was attended only by the reporters of six Go magazines. This was not because no one wanted to know about _Sai;_ on the contrary, every Go reporter worth his salt wanted that interview. The reason for the limited attendance was that Touya Koyo, some said fearing for his rival's collapse and for Sai's apparently delicate health, decided to only invite reporters of the more respectable papers into his house, where said press conference would be held.

That may not have stopped the besieging of the Touya house by what turned out to be Ghost of Net Go Followers and what must have been half the representatives of the International Amateur Tournament, but it was a start..._sort_ _of._

Hikaru admitted to himself that, really, Sai was good. At lying. Even if yes, Sai was deliberately vague about the details of the past two years and danced around some of the more awkward questions, just looking at that straight back, that poise, those violet eyes, would have had the reporters forgive him of all transgressions immediately. Sai waxed as bit on the part of the cancer thing [Hikaru thoroughly approved of emphasis on the emotionally tragic parts] then continued about how thankful he was to still be alive [also very nice] and then on why he decided to enter the match. Somewhere along there Hikaru and Net Go and how he was introduced to it by _zelda_ [Waya had gasped at that] was thrown in, much like how spices were used to flavour dishes. It was a story that told a lot and yet, told _nothing._

"So,are you intending to become a professional?" Amano asked him.

"I do not know. Perhaps I will see what the future holds first. However, I have received several letters requesting for me to play against a few well-known Go players and several others too, so perhaps not yet. I am quite happy as I am now." Sai replied. _And that is true. I have no desire to be a professional. Let Hikaru hold the titles in my place, I am content just to have found a rival._

"Ah, so, Fujiwara _sensei,"_ Being _Sai_ of Net Go afforded the reporters calling him as _sensei_, even though Sai was technically, not a professional, "How do you find the time to play against so many people? Surely that is impossible to play against them one at a time."

"It is impossible, but there are quite a few ways to go about it." Sai replied happily. "I work part-time at a certain Go salon, and part of my job requirements is to occupy the customers' time. Assuming that anyone can find the place, I will oblige them with a game."

Amano's eyebrows rose as he mentally calculated how near-impossible it was to find an individual Go salon in Tokyo. "So it's a sort of...map? Trail? Something like that?"

"I do not know," Sai innocently replied.

Amano decided to skip that to the next question: "Who do you think is the strongest Go player in history?" he asked.

Sai pursed his lips, thinking. Hikaru mentally slapped his head. Sai was Honinbo Shuusaku, so saying it was Shuusaku would be akin to praising himself. So who else could he choose...?

"By strong, if you would mean able to read in-depth, I would say it was Honinbo Dosaku." Sai replied. "He did ground-breaking work on _fuseki_. If we were referring to overwhelming moves, then it would be Honinbo Jowa, whose 'Ghost Moves' are _myoshu_ that I think should be studied by all. If we were referring merely to victory, then it would be Honinbo Shuusaku."

_Nice save_, Hikaru mentally noted.

Touya Koyo had shot a surprised look at Sai at that declaration, Akira had said nothing at all, while the ghost, Shuho, who had stuck on Akira, scowled at him.

"Oh, you chose the three _Kisei_ of the Edo era," Amano noted with surprise. "Considering you're the _Kisei_ of the Internet, that's no surprise."

_He was more than that_, Hikaru dryly thought. _He was one of the _Kisei_ himself, Honinbo Shuusaku.

* * *

_

Touya Koyo had often wondered when did he become so curious about his rival, watching said rival breeze through the interview with well-thought lies. Perhaps it was the mere shock that his rival looked to be in his twenties. Any inadequacy he might have felt concerning his Go ability was removed when Shindo had told him and his son the truth. Sometimes, he wondered what might have happened if Fujiwara Sai had not had the love of Go such that death itself could not restrain him and allowed him to play throughout the ages. The conclusion wasn't pretty; he would have died still in the trap of pride, confident in his ability that he was the strongest Go player. Meeting _Sai_ was one of the best things Fate had given him, now that he thought about it.

Even then, he wondered sometimes about Fujiwara's sketchy past, and his abilities. Conclusive proof of Shindo's story had been achieved when Koyo saw Sai's hand pass through his son's face. Knowing that he was not insane, Koyo had had to accept that story. Surprisingly it explained everything perfectly, why Sai could only play on the Internet, Shindo's fluctuating skills, Shindo's suddenly entering the pros and shocking the Go world, among other details. He knew about Fujiwara the Go tutor, cheated of a life with Go, but not about Fujiwara the _person_. Questions abounded, but he shoved them into some dark recess of his mind anyway, deep into the darkness of ignorance.

Because he did not want to know. Because it was not in his place to question the thoughts of the higher powers. Because his time was short, and at least a higher power, even if he did not know who, had seen fit to return his rival to earth for that game, that perfect game, that final hand, in his old age, and sometimes, that was all he needed. Finally, because the simplest things are always the hardest to understand, and he had rather not waste time pondering on matters beyond is control, and focus on the more immediate things.

His rival was here. They were playing. He still had time, had skill, had intelligence enough to reach the Divine Move that could only be achieved between two people of equal and high calibre. That was enough for him.

_I still have time. I'd rather not waste it.

* * *

_

The semi-finals of the International Amateur Tournament had only four entries: Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China, Lee Li-shin getting back in after winning the losers' league. According to the online forums, the odds of Japan winning were almost a hundred percent. Even though _Sai_ himself had been gracious enough to decry that preposterous claim personally, something which had many discussing over for a long time, the fact was that Japan was poised to become the next world champion until next year, where, if Sai wanted to defend his title, had to go to Beijing to play.

The match was an epic as the four Asian Go powers started the meeting of minds: Japan VS Taiwan, Korea VS China.

As expected, Lee Li-shin won, but Korea's Kim made him work for it. In Japan's case, Taiwan's Wang put up a good fight, cornering Sai, but unexpectedly stepped into a well-planned trap that let Sai control the board. It was over in fifteen minutes. A new record.

That epic over, many amateurs swarmed over to Sai, requesting for more games, Sai trying to fit a schedule until a certain newly-made 6-_dan_ Touya Akira dragged him into the Institute's pro-only area, into sanctuary.

"Fujiwara San, you really attract too much attention playing Go," Akira muttered. "You won the game against one of the world's strongest amateurs, in _fifteen_ _minutes._ This is not Speed Go."

"I tried to make it last longer..." Sai whined as he followed Akira down the hallways.

"Didn't even reach end-game..." Shuho, walking beside Akira, muttered. "Dammit, you've improved again. Then, so has my student."

"Akira is not _your_ student," Sai hissed at him. "He is his own."

"It's a sort of payment, stupid Fujiwara." Shuho growled back. "Sometimes I wonder if you really played those games, you know."

"I did. Every single one. Which, if I remember correctly, you lost most of the time." Sai sharply replied.

"Shut up," Shuho sourly replied. Then his eyes widened as he comprehended something he saw. "You know, I've never been this glad to be transparent until now," he continued, as if trying not to laugh.

Sai looked away from to see everyone staring at him, apparently talking to himself. Only Akira had the grace to look guilty. "It takes a while to get used to it," he told Sai, hustling the long-haired _bishounen_ off down another corridor. "After a while I just ignore him. However, Shuho is surprisingly...educational. Having a former _Honinbo_ around taught me some things."

"Is that so? Shuho, we really must play a game tomorrow." Sai weakly replied as they stopped outside a room. "I have five games to play at Shades of Grey after the lunch hour."

"You arranged a few games?" Akira asked while Shuho made a mock outrage at hearing that people were entering the shop. "Is that...prudent? After the stalker incident?"

After playing once with Sai, a certain player wanted to play him again, so much that the guy was willing to break into the apartment. _That_ one had met the spectre named Haru. When Sai came home, he was confronted with a scared-out-of-his-wits incoherent stalker blubbering for his mummy about ghosts.

"After the attempted kidnapping?" Shuho hinted slyly. A gang had attempted to do that very thing, having heard how much rich Go fanatics were willing to pay for Fujiwara Sai, which on hindsight is pretty unbelievable unless confronted with empirical evidence to the contrary. They had met Chiaki. Suffice it to say that they were never seen in broad daylight again.

"After the attempted sabotage?" Shuho continued to suggest. In a bid to stop his winning streak and possibly profit Go bookies [he'd never heard of _that_], someone had tried to maim him by ambushing him in a dark alley on his way home after another game, but the ambusher had met Seimei. When Sai had caught up to his flighty senior later, there was nothing left but what looked to be a puddle of thick, viscous liquid he didn't want to contemplate as to its origins. He wouldn't have known about it if Seimei hadn't proceeded to his room directly after the front door had closed, calling Chiaki to bring a few cursing implements.

"And...?"

"I think that was it," Sai interrupted before Shuho began regaling another tale that strangely seemed to get more and more exaggerated with each retelling. "I don't think I was ever so sought after that anything _worse_ could happen."

"What are you going to do now?" Akira asked him as Hikaru walked out of the room they were outside of, punching his fist up into the air in a moment of triumph.

"Sai, I did it! I got into the _Tengen_ semi-finals!" Hikaru called. Not yelled; Hikaru knew some hadn't finished their games yet.

"I knew you could do it, if Akira San here could get into the _Honinbo _quarter-finals with you as well, and yet get into the _Kisei_ quarter-finals. Hikaru, shall we go for _ramen_? Shuho here knows a very good stall. Standing room only, but their pork and miso is very good." Sai enthusiastically replied.

Coming from Sai, who loved rice and fish more than _ramen_, it was one of the things that were a testament to how good it was. "Let's go!" the brash young Go player called. "Sai, your treat!"

Seimei had sat him down and explained to him the concept of a credit card before, but the attempt was abandoned when it was clear that he was never going to get the hang of it. Instead, they had taught him the safe use of cash, how to calculate, and a few effective ways on how to keep thieves off his wallet, which now contained the winnings from the free-for-all he had won. It was safely enough to feed Hikaru's craving, if just for a while, he thought.

* * *

Of course, it was only when he had finished his third bowl, that Shindo Hikaru learnt about Sai's intention to play Go with five acquaintances he had never met before.

"Are you sure Sai? The last time you tried that, you..."

"It will be perfectly fine, Hikaru. Shuho San will be there, and the salon does its own hustling." Being faced with the prospect of losing badly every time one stepped in was a great deterrent that had also kept opportunistic cheaters looking to earn a bit on the sideline by hustling. There was also an added advantage to having a samurai around; no one thought twice about cheating, they just never even considered it. This was especially useful if one needed a sort of bodyguard around. Like Sai.

Sai shivered, drawing his forest green jacket around himself in an effort to keep the cold away. It was daytime, but winter daytime. He had forgotten the necessities of passing of seasons already, having passed a thousand years without needing to note the climate, just when was the next game. Winter was one of the seasons he didn't like much, but he was still adapting, not that there was nothing of the winter to appreciate. It was just more...cold than beautiful. He had been initially doubtful two years ago when Chiaki had shown him exactly what most people wore for winter, at the few layers that were supposedly sufficient to pass winter comfortably, until he had tried them. In his time, people wore layers and layers and layers of silks even in _summer,_ much less winter. At least it was in proper seasonal colours, he thought. And that he could _feel_ again. It was a small price to pay for a body.

_Is that really all?

* * *

_

Twenty minutes later, Akira wondered if Shindo's eyebrows were going to disappear permanently into his hairline. Then wondering why was Shindo making that expression. Then he wondered if his own eyebrows were doing that exact same thing, because, really, you don't expect many pros in a Go salon, especially not _this_ _many_ pros. Secrets never lasted long in the Go world; now, what must have been twenty of the lower-_dan _players in the Tokyo area have assembled at Shades of Grey. And they were all watching Sai play.

It was a novel experience, watching Sai efficiently answer challengers. He witnessed Sai finish off a 4_-dan_ in half an hour. It must have been the poor guy's fastest defeat. _Which served him right for underestimating Sai_, Hikaru thought, scanning the _goban_. _Look at that shape Black made; it's obviously Shidougo that guy intended to play. But Sai had answered with Shidougo as well. _

Shuho, as the threshold guardian, as Akira put him, was solid once more, serving drinks to customers as they played a few games of Go with Hikaru. Akira played beside him, the two rivals becoming another attraction of the salon.

"_Makemashita,_" the 4-dan bowed, Sai bowing as well. As soon as the 4-dan vacated, the place was taken up, and another round began. The original five games had been extended; this was the seventh. The players, figuring that Hikaru was _Sai_'s student, had got into their heads that defeating the 5-dan was necessary before they could advance to the teacher. It was easier said than done, though; after Hikaru, they had Akira to contend with. Even though everyone could challenge Sai, most of them saw ho busy Sai was and decided to give him some time first out of some consideration, or _Sai_ might just disappear again.

Still, some of them had to just see the beautiful, long-haired Go master pack up the stones after his opponent had left, and could not help but feel wistful. _Being seen, and being able to see, but still separate; isn't that a lonely existence?_

Then the heavy doors had opened,and any thought was blown away as a familiar jovially chubby man entered, complete with a companion whose shirt could only be described as 'clueless tourist chic'.

"Kurata _sensei_! Yang San!" Hikaru called.

"Nice to see you too, Shindo," Kurata shot back genially. "Can I have a word with your...friend?"

"My teacher, actually," Hikaru proudly replied.

Kurata's eyebrows rose. "Really? You have a very good teacher," He flopped down on the seat before the empty _goban. _"Fujiwara San, nice to meet you...again. This is Yang Hai 7_-dan_ from the China Go Institute."

"Nice to meet you, Yang San," Sai methodically greeted.

"He goes by the nickname, er..._ OldasSea,_ on Net Go." Kurata began frowning here, shooting questioning looks at Yang Hai at having to ask this question.

Sai's questioning look immediately brightened. "It's nice to finally meet face-to-face," he told Yang Hai.

It took a while for the fact that he said that in _Chinese_ to sink in. The silence during that time was so thick that a laser was required to cut it.

"You...You speak Chinese!" Hikaru squeaked. "Sai, what the heck? I never knew that about you!"

"Hikaru, there are many things you have no idea about of the past," Sai replied. "My Chinese is average, so I would appreciate it if Yang San could speak in Japanese."

"Oh, then it's a good thing I can," Yang Hai jokingly waggled his eyebrows.

"You actually sound Japanese!" Sai noted, impressed. "That is very good. Shall we play a game? It is the first time we have met face-to-face after all."

"Er, thanks, but I'm not here to play. Okay, I am here to play, but that's after I ask you about something," Yang Hai now began to look very nervous.

"We must have a game first. It is, after all, the first time we have met," Sai cheerfully replied, setting out the _goke_.

"Right," Yang Hai nodded, drawing out the last syllable. "Because you don't really believe that I'm _OldasSea._ Well, I never thought that Shindo would actually know _Sai _in person, much less be tutored under _Sai_."

"Truth is occasionally stranger than fiction," Sai acknowledged as he placed the _goke_ in position beside him. "_Onegaishimasu."_

"_Qing duo duo zhi jiao," _Yang Hai spoke_. _Sai smiled at the sheer comic effect Yang Hai had and replied to Black's first move.

…

Hikaru and Akira, having already abandoned any attempt at crowd control, slumped into matching grey chairs, Hikaru chugging down Coke, Akira sipping hot _matcha, _both intently watching the game progress on. Black was good, White was very good.

"Which is perfectly why Fujiwara San must never become a professional," Shuho muttered, out of earshot.

"Why?" Hikaru wondered.

Sometimes Akira had to think very deeply why was Shindo Hikaru his rival, given said rival's lack of common sense occasionally. "Shindo, this is a hypothetical scenario. It's a 'what if' scenario," he explained in reply to the gob-smacked look on Hikaru's face. "Say that there's a very good Go player with Sai's ability at Go, right now."

"Uh huh..." Hikaru nodded.

"Now give this player one thousand years of experience. Wouldn't he be near unbeatable? Experience plays a factor in a game's outcome. Given that much time, even an _insei_ can equal a title-holder." Akira concluded. "It's just unfair."

"Which is why none of the ghosts around would ever become professional," Shuho murmured. "Besides the fact that I become transparent, there are other effects which differentiate us from normal people. We can never hold the spotlight again, but we can play Go. That is a minor price to be allowed around."

"Don't you get lonely now?" Hikaru asked the ghost. "Your master and friend is gone."

_Shindo is surprisingly insightful sometimes_, Akira thought.

"Sometimes, but the intervals are getting shorter and shorter." the samurai replied. "Perhaps the _Kami_ is telling me that my turn will come soon. Did Sai ever tell you, that he was the first case of a spirit obsessed with Go such that even death could not take him?"

"Really?" Akira sipped at his tea.

"Yes, the _first_ case. It was during the Edo era that more and more ghosts appeared. Sansa, Dosaku, Jowa, Shuwa, me, Shuei...and a few more. Oh look, he's finished." Shuho exclaimed as Kurata and Yang Hai stood up, bowed and left the salon. "Sai, I already ordered dinner, and it's coming soon. Shall we play a game? After all, we have a lot of time."

"Very well, then." the man from the Heian era replied. "Let us play."

* * *

"Special delivery," a sing-song voice whispered in Hikaru's ear. "Ah, I see the young Touya is here too. Does Master Touya want his evening meal? Perhaps it was a good thing that I, predicting company, have brought an extra share," Seimei has appeared, bearing stacks of _bento _boxes.

"All right!" Hikaru cheered, grabbing a box and a pair of chopsticks before settling down to watch the game. "Who's treating?"

"Kuroki Chiaki _sensei,_ who is currently working overtime at his school," Seimei sighed, obviously miffed. "Why on earth did he choose to go into education is beyond me...he keeps complaining about those irritating students of his..."

"Which school does he teach at?" Hikaru wondered.

"Haze High, I think," Seimei shuddered. "I have no idea why he still chooses the teaching profession, he had a perfectly good degree in literature and law..."

"5-17, 6-19..." Akira whispered, moving to get a piece of paper. "We better write this down..."

Then, silence reigned again, no sound of human inhabitance making itself known save for the scratch of pen on paper, the scrape of chopsticks on the _bento_ box, the _pa_-_chi pachi_ of Go stones onto the wood, the breaths and small gasps that elicited from the young Go players present as they watched these ancient Go players play a game in which the depths were so complex that even the players themselves had to consider deeply the ramifications of each and every move of their strategy. _Bento _boxes lay abandoned by the side as the Go players watched, transfixed. Three hours passed, and the clock had read half past ten when the silence was finally broken again...

"Over a century ago, I could not compare to Honinbo Shuusaku," the samurai whispered as Sai placed the last White stone. "Over a century later, I still could not compare...Honinbo Shuusaku has not remained stagnant..."

Rapidly, his voice grew fainter and fainter, as his form grew even more indistinct and translucent, until a bare whisper made itself known, even amid the near-sleepy silence in Shades of Grey:

"_I have tested my strength against that of the Middle Saint...and I am content...it is now time for me to leave...leave the world of the living...I thank you for staying __around, Fujiwara no Sai...Sai of the Fujiwara...heh heh..."_

The doors of Shades of Grey burst open, howling winds blowing in, scattering papers and various knick-knacks. Amidst the temporary chaos created then, no one saw Abe no Seimei steal the _kifu_ and stuff it into his sleeve, a throwback to the days of the Heian era. If Hikaru and Akira were not so occupied with shivering from the cold that had entered the salon, they might, just might, have heard a small, almost silent, sigh of relief as the ghost passed on.

"Where's Shuho?" Hikaru commented, looking around, but seeing no samurai present, merely the slight form of his teacher, head bowed, still eyeing the mess of black and white stones that had been the last game of Honinbo Shuho.

* * *

_**Please read and review!**_


	20. Chapter 20:The Vanishing Fox

_**I am intending on ending this story soon. So many more chapters, so many more twists...four more ghosts to go...**_

_**I do not own Hikaru no Go.

* * *

**_

_**The Vanishing Fox**_

"So the three of them are all gone," Chiaki murmured, reading the _kifu_ Seimei had stolen, er, _taken_. "And now, you intend to bring the game to the next level."

"Even Sai cannot stand up against the two sages alone. _Honinbo_ Sansa, perhaps, but those two are nearly impossible." Seimei replied, fanning himself as the two of them conversed into the night, Sai safely out of earshot from their conversation, asleep. The resident spectre floated about, ignoring their conversation while prowling the small enclosed space of the apartment. The number one reason why the two other supernatural beings tolerated the spectre was because ghosts made better guards than any guard dog.

"Sansa cannot be exorcised by Fujiwara alone. He has had no previous connection to the Fujiwara, and as such cannot be exorcised by Fujiwara," Chiaki argued.

"Touya Koyo has the connection to Sansa. As one of the most influential players of the age, Touya Koyo is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of a new age of Go," Seimei chuckled as he remembered dimly an article declaring the exact thing. "Sansa is like him, a pioneer in one of the Golden Ages of Japanese Go. That is your connection. Now, if only we can get Touya Koyo into Kyoto..."

"What are you intending, Seimei?" the servant of Fushimi Inari quietly spoke.

"What is the will of Inari," the changeling of the Heian era replied, grinning from ear to ear behind his fan, Chiaki could tell.

And so, the two of them made their plans, always, in their thoughts, ensuring that the will of Fushimi Inari is carried out...

* * *

In a not-so-surprising showdown on the final day itself, Japan won against China in the International Amateur Tournament. Japan's Fujiwara Sai had given Japan the honour it had not held for the past four years, provoking zealous amateurs that someone with so much talent had succeeded where they had failed.

"And the winner of the International Amateur Tournament is Japan!" The foreign emcee announced. There was no screaming, more of an excited babbling and murmurs among the audience as Fujiwara Sai received the prize.

As he turned around to leave the stage, those long black locks fanning out behind him, his student once again had the feeling that Sai was like a spirit; ethereal and beautiful, the god who had given him his calling...

_Sai._

_Sensei.

* * *

_

**~o0O0o~**_  
_

"Kyoto?"

That one word echoed in the corner table Hikaru had insisted that they take in the WcDonald's place. Akira suddenly had the unexplainable feeling of dread that could only be associated with Shindo and leave of absence. Hikaru, on the other hand, never noticed his rival's discomfort, and even then he would have assumed said rival's discomfort as that of rarely visiting WcDonald's, Touya Akira being notoriously old-fashioned for a teenage boy, a fact that came into play almost every single time they argue.

"Sai, you want to go to Kyoto for the New Year? Why? I thought that you would...spend it with us..." Shindo could be surprisingly bratty sometimes, Akira decided.

"Hikaru, you have a family and friends to spend New Year with," Sai gently spoke, with a wistful air. "At least, you would not be alone. However, there is someone in Kyoto who does not have anyone with them. That person is alone almost every time, and the least I can do is to visit him, since that person has given me so much..."

"Well, why can't he come here? It's not like he can't leave Kyoto, right...?" Hikaru shot back.

"That person cannot leave," Sai told him. "He cannot leave Kyoto, like you said."

"Huh? Why?" Hikaru looked confused. Akira's train of thought looked like this:

_Cannot leave Kyoto...Sai lived for two years in Kyoto before this...doesn't have anyone...can't leave during the holidays, so...someone related to the festivities? Who is there, monks, priests, shrine maidens...it could be a monk, but any of the above wouldn't be alone during the holidays...the person in question couldn't have monetary problems, since he somehow managed to care for Sai pretty well and yet create an identity for Sai here, which wouldn't be cheap in the first place...So, someone who is well off, but cannot leave the place, alone even during the holidays...Sai owes him...Sai was a ghost, but he came back...because of the will of the _Kami..._the higher powers..._

"_Kami _Sama," Akira breathed. "_Kami,_ right? That person...it's a _Kami_..."

"_Kami Sama_?" Hikaru's eyes widened in realisation.

"And a _Kami_ can never leave their shrine," Sai nodded gravely. "Or their city. That is why they cannot come, and I must go."

And that sort of settled everything. After all, taking on a pilgrimage to Kyoto to visit his saviour certainly trumps celebrating New Year with his student. Even Hikaru agreed with that, hearing about exactly how lonely a _Kami_ could be.

They didn't notice the eavesdropper behind them. Frankly, that was almost expected; no one would have noticed Abe no Seimei in casual clothes, listening behind them, and smiling serenely in that sort of smile that could only come from the truly insane or truly evil as he considered various plots for the next phase of their game...a game which was already in motion...

* * *

"Welcome to Tokyo...again," Chiaki greeted the two other spirits at the train station. "Did you have a nice trip?"

"Until Jowa started it," the older of the pair with the beginnings of a beard growled. "How anyone could have made that sort of move is quite beyond me..."

"The only reason I keep ahead is because of such moves," the younger man objected. Both were about five foot nine, the average height a few centuries ago, and brunette with matching brown eyes, dressed in matching coats and travelling clothes, but there the resemblance ended. In the older, one could see how cultured, well-read, intelligent and older he was, but those eyes possessed a smouldering flame. In the younger, the eyes were bright and burning, full of vitality and creativity that contributed so much to his odd style of play. The Former Sage and the Latter Sage, _Honinbo _Dosaku and _Honinbo_ Jowa, has entered the game.

"Shut up, Nowaki," the older one replied.

"Why, Hiroki?" the younger teased, not caring as Chiaki let out a barely suppressed snort of laughter at their aliases.

"Hiroki and Nowaki...would I say your surnames are Kamijou and Kusama respectively?" Chiaki asked. They didn't answer.

_Looking at them, you would never have thought that these two are over a century old,_ Chiaki thought. _How amusing. They certainly don't act their age..._

His gaze turned wistful. _So even death cannot hold them back from the game they loved so much..._

_Or from each other either_, he thought as the first _Kisei_ punched the second one. _These two have a weird relationship...

* * *

_

"Before that it seems that I must ensure that the store keys are handed over to the new proprietors, it seems," Sai mused as the group made their way back to Shades of Grey. "They have asked if there was any talent in Go. From what I could gather from Seimei Sama, the new proprietors are just like Shuei and Shuho."

"By that, you mean that they're famous, supposedly dead Go nuts, that they have a really codependent relationship, or that they can't stand each other?" Hikaru quipped.

Sai frowned as he tried to answer. "From what I gather, they took their names from a certain...magazine, if I am not wrong...and it should be a joke, considering how Seimei Sama started laughing without delivering the punchline," he slowly stated.

"What are their names?" Hikaru wondered.

"I believe it was two men, the older being Kamijou Hiroki and the younger Kusama Nowaki; those are their pseudonyms. Their real identities are Dosaku and Jowa. Why are you holding your stomach like that, Hikaru? Do you have a stomach ache?" Sai now switched to the concerned parent upon seeing Hikaru's reaction. Akira looked surprised too.

"...N-nothing, S-Sai, I think I just remembered why it's supposed to be a joke..." Hikaru leaned closer to his rival and whispered something that made Akira's face go pale immediately.

"Why, what's the punchline?" Sai innocently asked.

"Fujiwara San, are you familiar with the meaning of 'gay'?" Akira asked him.

"No, I can't say I've ever been acquainted with it," Sai admitted, cocking his head to one side.

"Good, good," Akira replied distractedly.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"No, decidedly not," Akira insisted.

"Hey, Touya, Seimei San mentioned that we were like the two sages, right?" Hikaru playfully asked. A lesser being would not be able to differentiate the question as any other than an innocent question, even though it was the prelude to the trap.

"Yes, why..." Akira was immediately suspicious.

"So, do you think he meant that in more that one way...?"

Oh.

_Oh._

One would have felt the cold dread of an Arctic winter upon seeing Akira's expression.

* * *

**~o0O0o~**

Shades of Grey was one of the more eccentric Go Salons for one in the Old Tokyo districts, where the shops had a tendency towards the traditional. For one thing, it went out of its way to avoid customers, being tucked away in some alley that rendered it invisible to the main crowds. The sheer confusion surrounding its location had ensured that people who didn't know about it stayed that way and, more often than not, got hopelessly lost until some charitable local directed them to the location. Given that most locals didn't know about the place's existence, that scenario was hardly likely. It suited the proprietors just fine, really, until their newest part-time worker shot to notoriety and _happened_ to mention the place to a reporter, resulting in Shades of Grey being sought out by the local Go nuts in the hope of finding the player who had created a legend amongst those of the Go world. Of course, the occasional foreign Go nut would make the journey, but language barriers, Japanese occasional xenophobia, and the unfamiliarity of the location went a long way to keep them away. The ex-Meijin Touya Koyo had used this to his advantage more than once to shake off enthusiastic reporters before.

In fact, it was so seclusive that it took even Sai, accompanied by Hikaru and Akira, about an hour of walking through the twisting alleyways to find the shop. When they have finally arrived, panting and complaining about why the shop was hidden so well within the alleys, and were they even trying to get customers anyway, the first thing that greeted Hikaru was the cover of a _goke_ flung straight into his face.

"Oh, you're getting violent now, huh?" a male voice sneered at some unknown figure as Hikaru nursed his new injury. "You know, this still isn't going to even our score, Jowa."

"No one asked you!" another male voice, this one slightly deeper, whined. "You'll see, I'll win at the end, and then I'll laugh as you bow in defeat."

"Even then, I will still be leading by two games," the first voice dryly replied, to which there was another sound of a projectile being picked up. "Now, don't get violent, we just had that monkey here last year and we're still repairing the damage after we defeated the monk, I mean, come on, what kind of reaction to that was _that_? Jowa? If you really want to do it this way..."

It was just then that Hikaru vaguely felt as if a high-speed mini projectile had just struck the wooden frame of the door, and in his puzzlement, he turned around to see a black stone embedded halfway into the wood. Vaguely, he could already feel the winter cold setting in, even though the place was initially warm...

"Oh, so you do want to play it like that, don't you? Well, you aren't the only one with that ability."

With the _pachi_ of shell on wood, Akira could swear that he saw a flash of white and then, noted that that white stone embedded in the counter was quite a new addition...

"Nice try, Dosaku. But if I do this...?" The sound of a high velocity projectile striking wood was there again.

"You'll endanger the poor people behind you," Chiaki's dry tone cut in then, and suddenly the trio found themselves subject to the scrutiny of the two newcomers.

Both were about five foot nine, the average height a few centuries ago, and brunette with matching brown eyes, dressed in matching coats and travelling clothes, but there the resemblance ended. In the older, one could see how cultured, well-read, intelligent and older he was, but those eyes possessed a smouldering flame. In the younger, the eyes were bright and burning, full of vitality and creativity that contributed so much to his odd style of play. Now, both eyes contained the same look of intense scrutiny and concentration that should be used on a _goban_, the expression all Go players wore when examining, assessing and deciding the next crucial move that could make or break them, except that the intensity was increased two-fold, as the younger Go players found themselves subject to the intense aura that was two of the greatest titans of Japanese Go; the Go Sages, the two legends, and now the two spirits, the _Honinbo_ Dosaku and Jowa.

This was the first impression that the two up-and-coming lights of the Go world, Shindo Hikaru and Touya Akira, had of this titanic pairing.

* * *

**~o0O0o~**

Now, readers, no doubt you are wondering, how will the story progress from here? Will the young challenge the old, and if so, will they triumph? In the actual fact, the glamorised experience was soon dissipated by the childish arguments that apparently goes on between the two older rivals. That is quite a boring plot, which was allowed as, quite silently, a few days later, that Fujiwara Sai disappeared again. And this is how it began...

"I will pass on soon, and before I do, I must say that I am grateful."

This statement threw off the motions of the speaker's rival, Fujiwara Sai, who in his surprise had dropped the heavy _goke_ full of the white stones he had been cleaning up on the _goban_ after their recently concluded game, the sixth round in a best-of-seven that ensured Touya Koyo as tied with his rival...until the seventh game, that is.

Ignoring the slight paid to the _goban_ by the accident of the _goke_, Touya Koyo ploughed on: "I am an old man now, even if you are, quite frankly, more than ten times my age, but do not look it. I already know, I have one foot in the grave and so, allow this foolish old man to thank you."

"Saying your last words already, Touya San? You still have a long time to live," Sai pointed out.

"The doctor has told me that I will, in all probability not live to see the next winter."

"I see. I am sorry."

"Do not be. If I have to die, I will have died satisfied."

Sai pursed his lips, considering for a second, those deep violet eyes reflecting what the ex_-Meijin_ always considered as the true age of Fujiwara Sai. "If you really claim that you will not see the next winter..." Sai slowly began to state.

"Yes?'

"Then, why not visit Kyoto with me this spring?"

Upon hearing the reason why, the old man could only stare at his rival in amazement. "Of course," Touya Koyo distantly heard himself reply. "I would truly be a fool to pass it up."

* * *

_He's finally gone off the bend_, Shindo decided when Akira showed him the note left by his parents who had mysteriously decided to disappear off to Kyoto with Sai, for an inexplicable reason unknown to both Hikaru and Akira.

It read:

_Gone to Kyoto, do not expect to be back soon. _

_Your parents_

It was not that message that surprised Hikaru, but rather the scribble underneath, which Hikaru had seen before as the handwriting of the ex_-Meijin:_

_Should anything happen, I have left documents in the study._

The words were ominous to them.

* * *

_**Kamijou Hiroki and Kusama Nowaki are characters from the 'Junjo Egoist' arc of 'Junjo Romantica', a BL manga by Nakamura Shungiku. It's ridiculously laden with humorous slapstick, which makes it good entertainment in either animé or manga. If you can't get the above innuendo, I suggest you read the pseudonyms and then guess the relationship between the Dosaku and Jowa.**_

_**If you still can't get it, then give up.**_

_**Frankly, I have never heard of anyone capable of hurling a go stone so hard that it could be embedded in a hardwood counter, but then again, the two sages aren't normal by any accounts, right?**_

_**I deeply apologise for the delay in posting this, but apparently I'm suffering from Writer'sBlock Virus and an over-active imagination which forces me to consider the plot lines for various other stories, not to mention having just passed through a major turning point in my life.**_

_**Next chapter: Showdown between the two pioneers!  
**_

_**Please read and review! **_


	21. Epilogue: The Fox Which Fears Death

_**Insert disclaimer here and imagine that it says what a disclaimer would usually say. **_

* * *

_**The Fox Which Fears Death**_

There was once a great Go player named _Sai,_ who went undefeated worldwide. The Go world went crazy when _Sai _was unmasked as a young Japanese man who won against world-class amateur players to win an amateur title, although _Sai_ had, beforehand, won against the player titled 'the closest to the Hand of God'. Despite this, it was the disappearance of _Sai_ and the resulting hell raised by what was revealed to be his disciple that brought droves of _Sai _challengers to Shades of Grey in the hopes of catching the elusive Go master there.

"I've already said so, he's in Kyoto, no, I'm not supposed to reveal where exactly, no, you can't trick it out of me," the one once known as _Honinbo_ Jowa, now Kusama Nowaki, sighed at the hyperactive Go pro. "Coke?"

As Hikaru refused, the other known as _Honinbo_ Dosaku, now Kamijou Hiroki, said, "I'll tell you...if you can beat me."

The word thus spread like wildfire and before they knew it, they were being challenged by numerous players for games using terms that were eerily similar to those Dosaku used on Hikaru. It resulted in a boom of business at Shades of Grey, an increase in crowds, and several witnesses of games a day. Amongst the crowd were several young pros alerted to the fact that there was this method of finding Sai's whereabouts short of hacking into the telephone company's mainframe to search for Sai via GPS. This was seriously considered until Akira pointed out that Sai's phone's particular model didn't come with a GPS.

Of course, this resulted in some disappointment, as Ogata found out later and refused to admit what had happened in a private game with Dosaku which had resulted in his getting totally wasted in a twelve-pack of beer (where had he gotten that?) after said game. Hikaru, undaunted, continued to play loss after loss with Dosaku.

The two ghosts, sighing, prayed that Touya Koyo hurry up with the game and come back...

* * *

_So you think you can escape the inevitable?_

Numbly, Sai regarded the look of despair cast upon him by the lone caretaker, Touya Koyo solemn and silent. "Where–?" he began.

"Gone," the temple-carer sighed, voice like the wind. "A few hundred years and already he wastes away. You are the newest of them, then?"

"So, that man–?"

Sai's words were interrupted as the other broke out in sharp, bitter laughter. "Tell me, what would you play for? Even if we are here now, we face the inevitable. Go will not chase away death. Love for the game will not stop Izanami no Mikoto from extracting her promise. Do not run from the soon to come. Embrace it and face the Sanzai river."

"But–" Sai was interrupted once more as the elder Touya laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"And? What about you, sensei?" Touya Koyo asked.

The caretaker laughed. "Already I have one foot into Yomi, and soon I too will pass." sharp eyes danced from the impassive Go expert to Sai's crestfallen expression. "And so will you... _Shuusaku_."

* * *

_Clack. _Every black stone fell weaker and weaker as the older-looking of the two placed his move, his younger-looking opponent responding equally quickly with the white stone. _Clack. Clack._

_Clack..._

"The inevitable end..." the older-looking yet younger by so much of the two regarded the other. "Is it painful?"

The younger-looking yet so much older sighed regretfully. "Not quite... you see nothing."

"I can feel myself dying as the game plays on," the player of Black abruptly stated. "Shall we?"

White took a while to answer. "After you."

And so the two played their hand, mapping out the path to the undiscovered.

* * *

_Article:_

_Renowned Go player Touya Koyo, aged 68, died in his sleep three days ago in his home in Tokyo. _

_Strangely, in his hand was a _kifu _detailing a game in which Touya Sensei wrote down his name as Black. White was left blank, but analysis by unnamed sources reveal that White was undoubtedly the work of Sai, a mysterious Go player who took the Internet Go world by storm three years ago..._

* * *

"So you're just going away like that?" Shindo Hikaru's voice broke through the humdrum of the airport.

His sensei regarded him, affronted. "Don't be silly, Hikaru. I'm just going across the Sea of Japan! It's not like I'm not coming back!"

"Well, after Touya Sensei–" Hikaru had the grace to shut up.

Sai lowered himself to look his student in the eye. "Hikaru, we are mortal. We can die. Sooner or later, we will. So, before this lifetime ends, play as much as you can, okay?" the spark which had dimmed brightened and flared to life again in dark eyes. "We'll meet across the _goban,_ then we'll play. And, maybe, just maybe, we'll finally find the Divine Move. Right?"

Hikaru stuck his tongue out. "Fine already! Go freak!"

"Hikaru!"

_Touya Sensei, I will not forget your will. Even if I fade... I will play. Someday, if the fates allow, we will meet again, and we will compete. _

Somewhere, a fox sighed, hidden in the eaves of a temple long dedicated to its kind. "So the child seeks to escape its fetters. Well," golden eyes glimmered. "Mortals will do what they must."

With this, the god of foxes disappeared, the temple once again shrouded in shadows and the heavy weight of a thousand years.

* * *

_**Conclusione della storia**_


End file.
